Last Christmas
by knk4891
Summary: Brittany got her heart broken last Christmas. This year, she's determined not to let it happen again, no matter how much she wants him back.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters/songs in this story

**A/N:** I'm probably going to regret doing this, but I'm starting another story... a Christmas story! I know I have lots of other stories, and don't worry, I haven't forgotten them. I just wanted to get this out by Christmas... I've never done a holiday-themed story, and I thought it might be fun. And to be honest, I have no idea where this story is going right now. Well, I have an idea, but it's not set in stone yet. So who knows how this thing will end up? Let's just roll with it and see where it takes us. Let me know what you think. ;)

* * *

**_Last Christmas I gave you my heart_**

**_But the very next day, you gave it away_**

**_This year, to save me from tears_**

**_I'll give it to someone special._**

* * *

**_Christmas Eve, One Year Ago_**

_Brittany's winter boots crushed through the white snow as she across the street to the Seville's house. She usually hated running (or any physical activity really), but she was so anxious to give Alvin his Christmas present. _

_The Chipette clutched the small silver box close to her chest as she finally reached the front door. Inside the box were two courtside tickets to a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game. Alvin had been wanted to go to a game for weeks now; and after pulling some strings and saving up baby-sitting money, Brittany had finally purchased the tickets. _

_Technically, Brittany and Alvin had decided to exchange Christmas day, since Brittany, her sisters, and Miss Miller always spent Christmas at the Seville's house. But Brittany couldn't wait to give Alvin his present, so she decided to bring them over Christmas Eve evening._

_Brittany hadn't bothered calling Alvin before coming over; they had been entering each other's houses unannounced since they were kids, so she didn't think it was a big deal to let herself inside the Seville home. Besides, it just added more to the surprise. _

_Brittany looked around the large foyer, but didn't see anyone, which she found sort of strange. Where else would everyone be on the night of Christmas Eve? But the front door was unlocked, so she figured someone had to be home. She decided to look for Alvin upstairs. _

_As she climbed the stairs, Brittany couldn't help but smile. Things weren't always easy in her and Alvin's relationship; she was a freshman at UCLA, while Alvin was spending his first year at USC. They only saw each other twice since the summer, and it wasn't near as much time as they wanted to spend together. Brittany had tried to hang out with him more over winter break, but Alvin always seemed to be busy buying Christmas presents._

_When Brittany reached the top step, she heard a faint giggle. The teen stopped in her tracks and listened closely. She heard the laugh again. It was a female laugh. _

_Brittany's eyebrows knitted together in confusion when she heard the girl's voice clearly coming from Alvin's bedroom. _

_She quietly crept toward Alvin's room, her heart pounding in her chest. _

Maybe he's just watching TV,_ Brittany thought._

_She took a deep breath and pressed her ear to the wooden door. _

_"Oh Alvin!" someone laughed. _

_Brittany gasped and dropped Alvin's present. He wasn't watching TV. And that meant…_

_Brittany slowly opened the door. The second Alvin's room came into view, her whole world shattered. _

_Alvin was lying in his bed, shirtless. A pretty blonde girl was sitting on top of him, clad in nothing but a red and white striped bra with matching panties. Alvin was looking up at the girl, grinning the way he had at Brittany so many times. The mystery girl returned his smile and leaned in for a kiss._

_Brittany's knees went weak and she grabbed on to the door frame for support. Alvin and the blonde instantly turned their heads to the door. Alvin's blue eyes widened and his jaw dropped. _

_"Brittany!" Alvin exclaimed. "It's not what it looks like! I mean, I know this looks bad but… aw, crap."_

_The girl straddling Alvin blinked in confusion. "Who's Brittany?" she asked._

_Brittany swallowed hard, trying to keep down vomit. Her head started spinning; things became foggy. This was not happening. _

_Alvin pushed Blondie off of him, making her yelp. _

_"Britt," Alvin said. "We need to talk."_

_Brittany stared straight ahead. It felt like she was having an out-of-body experience, almost like a dream. This was not happening. _

_She glanced at the girl behind Alvin. She had obviously sensed something was wrong by this point, and was scrambling to dress herself._

_Okay. This _was_ happening. _

_Brittany looked straight at Alvin and asked, "How could you?" It came out in a whisper. _

_She turned around and stepped on a piece of paper on the floor. Brittany looked down and saw it was the card she had taped on Alvin's gift. She had written __**I LOVE YOU**__ in big, capital letters on the back, and those were the words that faced her. A huge lump formed in her throat._

_Hot tears formed in Brittany's eyes as mustered up all the strength she had left to walk down the hall, toward the stairs. _

_"Brittany!" she heard Alvin call. "Wait!"_

_This only made Brittany run faster, as the tears spilled down her face. She hurried down the stairs and out the door, never slowing down. She ran as fast as she could to her house, then hurried up to her bedroom, ignoring her sisters' curious looks. _

_Then she slammed her door shut, through herself on the bed, and cried. She cried until she was too tired to cry anymore, and fell asleep._

…

"Is this it, little lady?"

"Huh?" Brittany flinched as she was interrupted from her flashback. She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed the car had stopped.

The cab driver turned around in his seat and pointed toward the familiar mustard-colored house on the left.

"Is this the place?" he asked.

"Yes," Brittany answered, slowly coming out of her daze. "This is it."

_My home,_ she thought.

Brittany climbed out of the cab and got her heavy suitcases out of the back. She had never been known for her light packing.

She handed the driver a wad of cash and said, "Thank you."

The man smiled and looked her up and down. She noticed he was missing many teeth.

"Thank _you_," he said, giving Brittany a creepy grin.

Brittany rolled her eyes, but she couldn't blame the guy for checking her out. She was wearing her favorite winter outfit she had purchased in London; her warm, charcoal-colored wool coat covered her to mid-thigh, and was tied tightly across her slim waist. She wore knee-high brown leather boots over black leggings that showed off her shapely legs. Her long brown hair fell in soft waves down her back, and her smoky eye make-up brought out her bright blue irises. Yes, Brittany would be the first to admit she looked pretty damn good that day.

The car drove away and Brittany took a deep breath as she faced her home. Well, technically it was her home; she had grown up in that house. But it didn't feel like her home anymore, most likely because she hadn't been there in almost a year.

The day after Christmas, Brittany had left and went back to UCLA early. Her family begged her to stay longer, but she couldn't. Alvin cheating on her had hurt her more than she ever thought was possible; she didn't want to be anywhere near him. She didn't want to be near _anyone._ So she returned to an almost-empty college campus, and spent the New Year wallowing in self-pity.

Brittany tried to forget about the affair, but she struggled. Things got easier, but she didn't forget. She _couldn't_ forget, no matter how hard she tried (the endless texts and voicemails from Alvin didn't help either, although all of them went unanswered). She managed to stay at the University for Spring break, but she dreaded coming home for the summer. So she got into a student-exchange program and spent her summer in London, England, where she decided to transform her look as well as her attitude. No longer was she Girly, Bossy Brittany; she was now Beautiful, Sophisticated Brittany. And she was hoping to stay that way.

She had gotten away not coming home for Thanksgiving by faking an illness, but she couldn't find a way out of Christmas Break. Brittany figured she owed it to her sisters and Miss Miller to at least show up for a week or two, since they hadn't seen her in a year. She had been dreading the event for months, but it was something she just couldn't avoid.

Brittany gathered her things and walked up to the door. The old Brittany would have burst into the house and yelled, "I'm home!" but the new Brittany politely knocked on the door.

Brittany held her breath as she heard excited footsteps make their way to the door.

_Here we go,_ she thought. _I'm home._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey guys! So I know the Chipmunks/ettes supposedly live in California, apparently around the LA area, where there isn't usually much snow. But since this is a Christmas story (and fictional!), it is going to snow in my story. Because, really, what is a December story without snow? I know, right? Oh, and yes, this story IS based on the song "Last Christmas," originally performed by Wham! (and then re-made by like a thousand other people. Oh, and I tried to center the lyrics below, but for some reason, the stupid thing would not let me center it. Ugghhh... Anyway, enjoy chapter 2.

* * *

_**Once bitten and twice shy**_

**_I keep my distance_**

**_But you still catch my eye_**

**_Tell me baby, do you recognize me?_**

**_Well, it's been a year_**

**_It doesn't surprise me._**

**_

* * *

_**

"Brittany!"

The eldest Chipette was suddenly facing with her two, smiling sisters.

Jeanette hadn't changed much since Brittany had last seen her; she was still tall and thin, and her long brown hair was pulled back into its usual messy bun. And in typical, sloppy Jeanette fashion, her violet sweater was wrinkled and her right sock had a hole in the toe. The main difference about the brainy Chipette was her glasses; she had gotten newer, more stylish ones sometime over the year.

Eleanor on the other hand looked a little different. She shortest sister had been shedding her baby fat for years now, but she was noticeably thinner than the year before. Her long eyelashes were coated in brown mascara and her lips were shiny with pink gloss. Brittany knew Eleanor usually hated wearing make-up, so she wondered what encouraged the sudden change.

Jeanette and Eleanor threw their arms around Brittany at the same time.

"We've missed you so much!" Eleanor said, squeezing her sister tighter.

Brittany returned the hug.

"I missed you girls too!" she said, suddenly overcome with emotion. She felt herself start to get a little teary-eyed.

After a long embrace, the girls led Brittany indoors. The house looked the same as it did when Brittany left it, which gave her a comforting feeling. As much as she dreaded coming home all these months, she realized how much she had missed it.

"Your hair got so long!" Eleanor admired, picking up a shiny strand of Brittany's mane.

"And dark," Jeanette observed.

"I stopped getting highlights," Brittany told them. "And you wouldn't believe the amazing shampoo they have in London. I bought like five bottles to take home with me."

"What a lovely outfit," Jeanette said, admiring Brittany's trendy clothes. "Just curious, but how did you afford it? It looks pretty expensive."

"I didn't tell you?" Brittany asked with wide eyes.

Eleanor blinked. "Tell us what?"

"I won a shopping spree in London," Brittany said, practically bursting with pride. She got excited every time she talked about it. "I entered a random drawing and won a bunch of money to spend at the shops. I was able to buy a whole new wardrobe."

The girls gasped in awe.

"That's awesome, Britt," Eleanor said with a smile.

"Oh, it was!" Brittany confirmed. "I can't believe I didn't tell you guys."

Jeanette bit her lip. "Well we haven't gotten a chance to talk in a long time, Brittany."

"I know," Brittany said with a sigh. "And I'm sorry about that, I really am. It's just, I've been really busy, and I…"

"It's okay, Brittany," Jeanette said with a small smile. "We understand."

Brittany glanced at Eleanor, who was staring at the wall on her left like she was in deep thought. Unlike Jeanette, Eleanor wasn't always so easily forgiving. Brittany figured she hadn't quite gotten over Brittany hardly speaking to them for a year. Not that she could blame her.

"So Ellie," Brittany said, desperate to change the subject, "you look great."

Eleanor looked at her and grinned. "Thanks."

"I don't recall you ever wearing make-up," Brittany said.

"Things change," Eleanor replied with a shrug. "I don't recall you ever using the word 'recall'."

Brittany giggled. "Well that's what I get for spending time around so many British accents."

The girls invited Brittany into the kitchen, where the sisters sipped coffee and fell into conversation. Brittany couldn't believe how formal they were acting toward each other. Usually when they talked, they were arguing about petty things, like if someone ate all the snacks or when someone was "hogging" the bathroom. And when they were getting along, they would gather in one of their rooms, lay on the bed, and share secrets, stories, and gossip.

But that wasn't the case on this cold December afternoon. Instead of giggly girl talk, the sisters were talking about school, weather, and things they did over the summer… things Brittany used to think of as lame and boring. Yet there she was, having a perfectly mature conversation with her sisters. It made her realize that this must have meant that they had really grown-up.

Or maybe they just weren't comfortable around each other anymore.

After some more uninteresting chit chat, Brittany decided to ask a question that had been nagging at her mind as soon as she entered the house: "Where's Miss Miller?"

Jeanette and Eleanor exchanged glances that Brittany couldn't quite read.

"She went out shopping," Eleanor told her.

"Why would she do that now?" Brittany asked, raising a brow. "I mean, she had to know I was coming home at this time. I clearly said…"

"She knew you were coming," Eleanor admitted.

"Oh," was all Brittany could say. "I see."

She knew Miss Miller didn't understand why Brittany had went pretty much MIA the last year. Eleanor lived at home and attended a local university, but Jeanette went to school at Stanford and still managed to visit home regularly. According the few conversations she'd had with her sisters, Brittany had gathered that Miss Miller was very angry at her for leaving. It was no surprise that Miss Miller, being her usual stubborn self, wasn't present for Brittany's homecoming.

"I think I'm going to unpack," Brittany announced.

"Do you need any help?" Jeanette asked.

"Thanks," Brittany said with a smile. "But I think I'll be okay."

Brittany carried her luggage up the stairs. When she hit the second to last step, it made a loud creaking noise. It reminded her of all the times she had to step over that noisy stair when sneaking in and out of the house at night. Brittany grinned at the memory.

She walked down the hall until she reached her bedroom, the last room on the left. Her door was still decorated in glittery heart stickers and small pink wooden letters that spelled at her name.

Brittany slowly turned the gold doorknob and entered the room. It was exactly how she had left it. The pale pink walls were covered in posters. Nail polish bottles, magazines, make-up, photographs, hair accessories, and other miscellaneous objects littered her desk. Even her flowery pink bedspread remained the same as the day she left.

Brittany opened the empty cream-colored dresser and started to fill it with clothes. When she was done, a picture frame on the top of the dresser caught her eye.

It was a photo of her and Alvin, probably taken last summer. Brittany couldn't believe how different she looked, even just a year ago. Her hair was shoulder length and lighter than it was now, her bangs pulled to the side with a star-shaped barrette. She wore a pastel pink tank top that showed sliver of tanned midriff and little denim shorts. She was smiling brightly, hugging Alvin as tight as she could. Alvin was flashing his usual cocky grin to the camera. Brittany couldn't help but wonder if she was cheating on her when that picture was taken.

She studied herself again. Brittany found it somewhat sad that she couldn't even relate to that girl in the photo anymore. Back then, she was so carefree, so conceited, so… naïve. She was just an immature, preppy little girl with no sense of reality. Alvin was her world, and she thought they would last forever. She had gotten too carried away in a silly teen romance.

Brittany laid the picture frame face down, as she couldn't stand seeing herself like that… so weak, so stupid. She was determined not to let some boy destroy her again; especially not Alvin Seville.

A knock at the door startled Brittany.

"Come in," Brittany said, turning toward the door. Jeanette entered the room.

"Do you need any help?" Jeanette offered again.

"Actually," Brittany said, "I'm done."

"Great," Jeanette said with a smile. "Um, so we didn't mention this earlier, but we were going to go over to the Seville's house for dinner tonight. They invited us."

Brittany blinked. "Oh."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," Jeanette blurted. "I mean, it might be kind of weird going back after the whole, well, you know... Alvin Thing."

"No," Brittany said. "I'll go."

"Are you sure?" Jeanette asked. "Alvin will be there."

"Of course he will," Brittany said with a shrug. "It's his house."

"Okay, but if you want to…"

"Jeanette!" Brittany laughed. "I'll be fine. I'm totallyover Alvin." She almost cringed hearing her say the word "totally." It was something Old Brittany would have said. The overly pretty pink room must have triggered the phrase.

Jeanette raised her eyebrows. "Really? You're over him?"

"Of course," Brittany said matter-of-factly. "He's just a boy, Jeanette. And it happened a whole year ago, so I've had plenty of time to get over it. Besides, Alvin is a family friend, I can't avoid him forever."

"Um, okay," Jeanette said. "We'll leave around six."

"See you then," Brittany said with a smile.

Jeanette returned the smile and gently closed the door on her way out.

The second Jeanette left, Brittany collapsed on her fluffy pink bed and sighed. She knew she would have to face Alvin sometime over Christmas break, but she didn't think it would be so soon. She was hoping she'd have more than a few hours to prepare herself.

Not that she wasn't over him. She was definitely over him. But realistically speaking, she knew if he started flirting with her, one thing would lead to another and she would fall for him all over again. And she could _not_ do that to herself again.

But Brittany was confident that she wouldn't fall under Alvin's spell this time. She was much more mature than the pink-wearing, self-absorbed brat she used to be. She would not let Alvin get the best of her. Those days were long gone.

…

It was six o'clock sharp, and Brittany found herself shivering on the Seville's porch.

"What's taking them so long to answer the door?" she grumbled as she wrapped her coat around her tighter. The weather was so much warmer on UCLA's campus.

"Maybe they didn't hear us knock," Eleanor suggested.

"Of course they didn't," Brittany said with her signature sigh and eye-roll. "Jeanette knocked on the door like her fingers were made of feathers."

Brittany pressed her French-manicured index figure onto the doorbell.

_Ding Dong!_

"Coming!" said a voice.

"And that's how it's done," Brittany said, grinning at her sisters. Suddenly it felt like old times; Brittany taking on the leader role, throwing in little put-downs. Brittany knew she was being mean, but it somehow felt… comforting.

Then she had to remind herself that she didn't want anything to feel like "old times," because old times were bad, stupid times. Where was New, Sophisticated Brittany?

The doorknob turned and Brittany stood up straighter.

_You are not the same Brittany Miller you were when you were last here,_ she reminded herself. _You are smarter, more mature, and more confident. And most importantly, you are _not_ in love with Alvin._

"Hello girls!" Dave exclaimed, his warm, friendly smile lighting up his face.

"Hi Dave!" the Chipettes said in unison.

Dave invited them inside. The whole interior was decorated for Christmas, as it had always been during this time of the year. The railing on the stairs was wrapped in garland, the end tables were set with Christmas-themed figurines, and a big, beautiful Christmas tree was lit in the living room. Brittany noticed peppermint-scented candles were lit on the shelves, making the house smell like a big, mouth-watering candy cane. Dave always went all out for the holidays.

"Fellas!" Dave called, as he politely took the girls' coats to hang them in the closet. "The girls are here!"

Theodore came down the stairs first. Brittany swore he looked the same since he was eight, just a little taller. She hoped he was still as sweet as he always had been, but hopefully less of a push-over.

"Hi!" he said to the Miller girls, his green eyes lighting up.

He hugged Jeanette and Eleanor warmly, but hesitated when he got to Brittany.

"Hi Brittany," he said, his smile a little unsure. "I heard you went to London."

"I did," Brittany confirmed. "It was wonderful."

She hugged the shy Chipmunk and he hugged her back. Brittany could understand why Theodore wasn't sure how to handle her. She hadn't spoken to him or any of the Seville's since last year, except for…

Simon came down the stairs next. Brittany's smile widened. Besides Alvin's desperate attempts to apologize (which only lasted a week), Simon was the only Seville to call her within those long twelve months. She and Simon had never been particularly close while growing up, but it meant a lot to Brittany that he had called, even if it was just one time.

When Simon hugged Brittany, he softly asked in her ear, "How have you been doing?"

"Better," Brittany replied. "Much better."

Simon had called Brittany about a month after the break-up, and Brittany admitted to Simon that she was a complete mess. For some reason, she was particularly emotional about the situation the day he called, and once she started talking about it, she couldn't stop. She was very honest, saying that she felt stupid for being so in love with someone who obviously didn't love her back and that she felt even stupider because she still had feelings for him. Simon didn't offer much advice or comforting words; it was obvious he had little experience handling crying, recently dumped girls over the phone. But he did tell her that everything would work out, and that she wasn't stupid. Brittany didn't mind that the words were cliché, and that he was probably just saying all that stuff to be nice so she'd stop crying. All that mattered was that she got her feelings out and that Simon listened. All she wanted was for someone to listen, and that was exactly what Simon had done.

"Where's your brother?" Dave asked Simon.

Simon shrugged. "I thought he was downstairs."

Dave sighed. Everyone knew what was coming:

_"ALVIN!"_

Brittany smirked. Some things never change.

"Relax Dave," a voice said. "I'm here."

Brittany held her breath as she prepared to face Alvin. Last time she saw him he was underneath some tramp in his bedroom. She turned around, and sure enough there he was, leaning against the wall, his arms folded confidently across his chest. He had that smug grin on his face that Brittany hated, yet loved at the same time. Her heart skipped a beat when they locked eyes.

He looked even better than she had remembered; so confident, so good-looking, so…

_Dangerous. _

_Get a grip,_ Brittany told herself. _Don't fall into his trap._

"Hello ladies," Alvin greeted.

Jeanette gave a polite wave, while Eleanor didn't even acknowledge him. Instead, she was staring at her tennis shoes. Brittany wondered why Eleanor was acting so spacey that day.

As the Chipmunks, Chipettes, and Dave fell into conversation, Alvin made his way over to Brittany. She tried her hardest to look nonchalant; although her heart was beating so fast she thought it would beat right out of her chest.

"Hi Britt," he said. He made no effort to hide his eyes scanning Brittany head to toe.

"Alvin," Brittany greeted with a formal nod. Without thinking, she walked over toward Jeanette, who was talking about some science thing with Simon. She knew she couldn't avoid Alvin forever, but she figured she'd at least try. Maybe he'd back off if she made it clear that she didn't want to speak to him.

But Brittany knew that was wishful thinking.

Time went by, and soon dinner was served. Brittany did her best to sit as far away from Alvin as she could. She also tried not to pay any attention to him during supper, although that was impossible. Alvin, as usual, was the one doing most of the talking. But Brittany found out a very interesting fact when Alvin talked; he wasn't going to USC anymore. Apparently his grades were suffering, and he decided to transfer to a smaller, local school to get his grades up (well, it sounded like it was Dave who made the final decision).

Brittany was delighted to hear this, as she knew it was Alvin's dream to go to USC and he totally screwed it up. She was glad to see karma finally get the best of him.

After dinner, the kids sort of went off and did their own thing, playing video games together, watching TV, or simply just talking. Eventually Brittany found herself alone on the living room couch, absentmindedly flipping through channels on the large, flat screen television.

"Hey," said a voice that made Brittany freeze.

She looked over, and sure enough, Alvin was sitting next to her, smiling as if they were still dating.

"What do you want?" Brittany sighed. She knew she should get up and leave, but her legs wouldn't move.

"Can't a guy say hello to his old friend?" Alvin asked innocently.

Brittany stared straight ahead at the TV. Maybe he'd go away if she ignored him.

"You look really good," Alvin told her softly. She felt his eyes on her body. "Different, but good."

"Yes, well, I decided it was time for a change," Brittany said in a clipped voice.

Alvin chuckled. "Wow, she has a new formal way of talking too. Well I'll be damned."

The Chipette faced him. "Is that why you came over here? To make fun of me, as if you haven't humiliated me enough?"

"On the contrary," Alvin said. "I came over to tell you how amazing you look. Even though the dark color thing looks a little weird on you, I'll admit. But it's sexy."

Brittany felt anger rise inside of her. What the hell was he doing? He was acting like he had never cheated on her. Hell, he wasn't even acting like they had ever _dated_; he was treating her like some random hot girl he had just met at a bar. What was wrong with this guy?

"Knock it off, Alvin," Brittany snapped.

Alvin smirked. "Knock what off?"

"Stop treating me like I'm someone who is interested in you," she said with a frown.

"Well I'm still interested in _you_," Alvin said, his face getting serious for the first time that night.

Brittany actually laughed out loud. "Get real! You had me, and you blew it. And you aren't getting another chance.""

Alvin smiled. "We'll see about that."

"Like I said," Brittany said, getting even more annoyed. "You blew it. Besides, I'm sure you've hooked up with plenty easy girls in college and forgot all about me."

"You're more important than any of them," Alvin replied without thinking.

Brittany laughed again. Was he for real? How stupid did he think she was?

"Oh really?" Brittany exclaimed, still laughing. "Well I guess I wasn't more important than that blonde slut you were feeling up when I walked in your room on Christmas Eve."

"Yes you were," Alvin said. "She meant nothing."

Brittany had enough of this. She rolled her eyes and started to get up. But to her surprise, Alvin grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

She glared at him. "Let go," she said through clenched teeth.

"Just listen, okay," Alvin said. "We need to talk."

Brittany wriggled her arm away from his grip. "I don't want to talk."

"Fine," Alvin said, nodding. "I'll talk and you listen." Brittany opened her mouth to speak, but Alvin cut her off. "I'm sorry about what happened on Christmas Eve."

"I'm sure you are," Brittany said, her voice thick with sarcasm.

"It didn't mean anything," Alvin assured her. "First of all, _she _came on to_ me_. And there was alcohol involved. I wasn't myself that night."

"Yeah, I'm sure you were completely innocent in the whole thing," Brittany said, her voice getting louder. She had to remind herself to calm down. Old, temperamental Brittany was starting to come out. "I'm sure Blondie poured the alcohol down your throat, held a gun to your head, and threatened to shoot if you didn't kiss her. Yeah, it all makes sense now. I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

Alvin raised his eyebrows. "So we're cool?"

Brittany's jaw dropped. Had Alvin always been so stupid?

"No!" she cried. "The only reason I'm even here right now is that your family is friends with my family. If it wasn't for that connection, I'd never want to see you again!"

"You don't mean that," Alvin told her. There was no doubt in his voice.

Brittany groaned. "God. You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"Yes," Alvin said, smirking. "I know."

Brittany stared at him. Why was he acting like this? Why was he being such a jerk? And why did she find all this bickering so… sexy?

"Don't fight it Brittany," Alvin said, switching his tone to serious again. "We both know there's something still there between us. There always has been, ever since we were kids. I admit it, I screwed up. And you know how much I hate admitting that, but it's true." He scooted closer to her and smiled suggestively. "So let's just put this behind us and start over."

The old Brittany would have bought it. She would squeal with joy, throw her arms around Alvin, and yell, "It's okay! I love you too!"

But not New Brittany. New Brittany was smarter than that.

"Sorry," she said with a condescending smile. "But it's over, Alvin. I'm too good for you."

Alvin's grin never wavered. "I know, you still think you're mad," he said. "And that's okay. I admire you for trying to be strong. But you won't be able to resist me."

"Dream on," Brittany said, hoping she didn't sound too flirtatious, even though she obviously did because Alvin was still smiling at her.

Alvin took a piece of Brittany's long hair and twirled it around his index finger. She didn't dare move; she felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

"We're going to work this out," Alvin said, playing with her hair, a move he knew drove Brittany wild.

"We're done," Brittany tried to sound strong, but she suddenly felt so weak. "You lost me the second you kissed her."

"I know," Alvin said. His blue eyes met hers. "But now I found you, and I'm not letting you go this time."

Brittany snapped out of his evil spell and pulled away.

"Leave me alone," Brittany spat, as she got up from the couch. She started to walk out of the living room. She walked quickly so she didn't have to hear him say anything else.

Brittany hurried into the hallway bathroom and closed the door. She looked in the mirror and her worst fear was confirmed: her face was flushed.

He had her exactly where he wanted her. He wanted her back, and Alvin Seville always gets what he wants.

"Not this time," Brittany told her reflection in the mirror. "He's not going to put me through this again."

Brittany splashed some cool water on her cheeks and did a quick lip gloss touch-up. She grinned in the mirror, satisfied.

She was beautiful. She was confident. She was smart. She was not some pawn in Alvin's stupid little game.

She was Brittany Miller.

Brittany exited the bathroom and unsurprisingly ran right into Alvin.

"So," he said. "What did you decide?"

Brittany pretended to think.

"I decided that I'm done with you," she said, making sure her voice was loud and clear. "I'm done with you and your stupid little mind games. I'm done with you acting like a complete asshole, thinking that cheating is forgivable…"

"I said I was sorry," Alvin reminded her.

"You just don't _get it_, do you?" Brittany rolled her eyes. "You _destroyed_ me, Alvin. Do you know how many hours I spent crying alone in my dorm room? Do you how many times I got physically sick just _thinking_ of the moment I walked in on you making out with another girl? Do you know how many times I blamed _myself _because I thought I wasn't good enough for you?"

Alvin blinked. It was one of the few moments she had ever seen him speechless.

"No?" Brittany asked. "You didn't know? Well I'd love to tell you the actual number, but I lost count. So maybe your cheating isn't a big deal to _you_, but it certainly was a big deal to _me_. And I'm sure as hell not putting myself through that again."

"Brittany, I…"

"So leave me alone, Alvin," Brittany said, feeling surer of herself every time she spoke. "Stop acting like I forgot what you did to me. Stop sweet-talking me, because I know you're just doing it to get in my pants. Don't speak to me. Don't look at me. Don't even _think _about me. We are _done_, got it? Leave. Me. Alone."

Before Alvin could speak, Brittany turned on her heel and walked down the hall.

"Britt!" Alvin called. "Wait!"

Still walking, Brittany stuck up her middle finger and proudly pointed it at Alvin over her shoulder. She had waited so long to give him that gesture. Her heart swelled with pride.

_Watch out World,_ Brittany thought as she strutted into the foyer. _New Brittany is here to stay. _

* * *

**Ok, survey time... when/if you leave a review, tell me who YOU want Brittany to end up with. Do you think she should get back together with Alvin, even after he broke her heart? Or do you think she should find someone new? I already know what the answer is going to be, but I want to know what you guys think... who knows, maybe you'll change my mind. (Not likely, but you can try lol).**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hi all. My goal is to get this whole story out by Christmas. Can I do it? Probably not. But here's hoping! Oh, and I changed some of the lyrics here (I put "girl" instead of "man," etc.) but I'll probably end up scrapping the introduction/lyrics thing because I'm starting to run out of lyrics to use! Read and review!

* * *

_**A face on a lover with a fire in her heart  
A girl undercover but you tore me apart**_

* * *

_They were seated on their favorite bench in the park, the same bench they'd sit on when they were children. It was a gorgeous spring day; the sky was a brilliant shade of blue, the freshly cut grass swayed in the soft breeze, and the birds' lovely symphonies echoed in the air. The sweet scent of budding flowers tickled Brittany's nose. Everything was perfect._

_She sighed lovingly toward she leaned near him. _

_"I'm glad you stopped fighting it," Alvin said in that low, sexy voice that made her toes curl._

_"So am I," Brittany said. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips…_

Brittany gasped and sat up in bed. Reality slowly started to sink in as she looked around her old bedroom. Sunlight poured through the cracks in the blinds, signaling that it was daytime.

She glanced at the digital alarm clock next to her bed. It was almost eleven o'clock in the morning.

The Chipette sighed and laid back, her head sinking into her fluffy pillow.

"Calm down," she told herself as her heart beat slowly returned to normal. "It was just a dream."

But the by the way her body had reacted, one would think it was a nightmare. Her heart pounded and her forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Most girls would feel giddy after having a dream where they were in love; but Brittany just felt sick. It was almost as if it had scared her.

Brittany buried herself under the heavy blankets, not wanting to leave the warmth of her bed. She wished she could stay under her cozy covers all day. Hell, she wished she could hide there the rest of winter break.

She groaned at how pathetic she was being.

Brittany got up, put on her old robe (which was pink, of course), used the bathroom, and made her way into the kitchen. Miss Miller was peering into the refrigerator, shaking her hips back and forth while humming a catchy tune Brittany didn't recognize.

"Miss Miller?"

The old woman looked up. Her eyes widened at the sight of her adopted daughter, the girl she hadn't seen in nearly a year.

"Why, Brittany," she said, her voice tinged with a Southern accent. "When did you get here, darling?"

"Yesterday afternoon," Brittany replied, sounding more than a little confused. Eleanor and Jeanette had told her Miss Miller knew she was coming, and made it seem like she didn't want to see her.

"Oh come here, sweetheart!" Miss Miller closed the fridge door and enveloped Brittany into a tight hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," Brittany said. Miss Miller still smelled like cherry Chap Stick and flowery perfume. Brittany used to think the mixture of scents was weird, but she suddenly found it soothing.

When they let go of each other, Brittany asked, "I thought you knew I was coming home yesterday, Miss Miller."

The old woman laughed. "Oh, I just got my days mixed up. Silly me!"

Brittany smiled. She was glad that Miss Miller wasn't upset with her. She may have not been the perfect guardian, but she was the only mother figure Brittany had.

Still, she found it odd that her sisters would lead her to believe Miss Miller was mad at her. She made a mental note to ask them about it later.

The small television set on the kitchen counter showed a commercial of Santa Claus setting a present under a Christmas tree. It instantly reminded Brittany of something very important.

"Miss Miller," Brittany said.

"Yes dear?"

"Why don't we have a Christmas tree?"

Miss Miller frowned. "Why, dear, why would we need a Christmas tree?"

Brittany raised her eyebrows. "Uh, because it's Christmas. Or at least, it will be in two weeks."

Realization hit Miss Miller. "Oh! You're right! We need a tree!"

Brittany stared at her former guardian, unsure of what to think. Miss Miller had always been pretty spaced out, but never like this. She never forgot what holiday was coming up. They didn't decorate the house as elaborately as the Seville's did their home, but they always had a Christmas tree in the living room by the second week of December.

After eating a bowl of cereal with Miss Miller, Brittany took a long, hot shower. She had missed being able to do that; at UCLA, she had to share the hot water with all the other girls living in her dorm. And even as a 19-year-old, Brittany did not do well at sharing.

She then got dressed and put on make-up.

_Now what?_ She thought.

She didn't know where her sisters were, she didn't feel like calling up any of her old high school friends who were possibly in town, and she obviously couldn't hang out with the Chipmunks. Brittany didn't know what to do. For the first time in a long time, she didn't have any plans.

The doorbell rang, and since no one else was home (she wasn't sure where Miss Miller had went), Brittany opened the door. Simon was standing on the porch, bundled up in a puffy blue coat and scarf. He was holding what looked to be like a text book.

"Hi Simon," Brittany said, still feeling awkward about the whole crying-over-the-phone thing.

"Hello," Simon replied. "Is Jeanette home? Last night she asked if I could lend her this book."

"She's not home," Brittany said. "But you can come in."

Simon shook his head. "No, that's fine." He handed Brittany the heavy book. "I'd appreciate if you gave this to her. Thanks."

Brittany watched him walk away. She quickly had an internal debate with herself whether to call him back or not. She was bored and wanted to hang out with someone, even if it was dull old Simon. But "hanging out" with Simon was probably as fun as watching paint dry.

_But he's better than nobody,_ Brittany thought.

"Simon!" Brittany called. "Wait!"

Simon turned around and waited for her to speak.

"Are you doing anything this afternoon?" Brittany asked. Her breath made little puffs of fog every time she spoke into the cold air.

"No," Simon said suspiciously. "Why?"

_Oh God,_ Brittany thought. _This is going to be weird. I need an excuse…_

Her eyes shifted toward the living room. It looked naked without a Christmas tree. Honestly, who didn't have a Christmas tree at Christmas time anyway?

"Want to come with me to get a Christmas tree?" she blurted.

Simon raised his eyebrows. "Pardon?"

Brittany rolled her eyes, annoyed at how lame she sounded. "We need a Christmas tree," she explained. "Do you want to help me pick one out?"

The intelligent chipmunk frowned. "Isn't this something you should do with your family?"

"They're busy," Brittany said. She hated how desperate she sounded. "But I thought it would be nice to have someone come along. So, what do you say?"

Simon, still looking skeptical, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm not sure why you chose me of all people, but I suppose I have a few hours to spare."

"So that's a yes?" Brittany wanted to make sure.

"Yes," Simon confirmed, sounding a little reluctant.

Brittany grinned. "Great. I'll get my coat."

Simon walked over to her. "Wait, you want to leave now?"

Brittany looked at him as if he had just asked her if the sky was blue. "Well, yeah. Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, we don't even know where we're going or what we're looking for," Simon pointed out.

Brittany rolled her eyes again. She was already regretting inviting Geek Boy to come along.

"We're going to a Christmas tree farm to get a pine tree," Brittany said, grabbing her coat. "What's so complicated about that?"

"Which farm?" Simon asked. "And what kind of tree? A big one? A small one?"

Brittany buttoned her coat and stepped into her boots. "We'll figure it out."

Simon looked at her feet. "Are you sure you should wear those?"

"Why not?" Brittany challenged.

"Well," Simon said, "it's just that they're leather boots, and chances are that we'll have to walk through a lot of snow. They might get ruined."

Brittany let out a dramatic sigh and went in the hall closet. She pulled out her dirty old pink snow boots she hadn't worn in a year.

"Happy now?" Brittany asked as she put them on.

Simon shrugged. "I was just making a suggestion, Brittany."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Can we take Dave's SUV?"

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Simon said.

_Why can't he ever just say a simple yes?_ Brittany wondered as she followed him out the front door.

…

An hour later, the unlikely companions found themselves wandering around a local tree farm.

"What about this one?" Simon suggested, pointing to a tall evergreen.

Brittany tilted her head as she studied the tree.

"It's missing some branches on the bottom," she said.

Simon frowned and looked closer.

"It isn't that noticeable," he said. "If you place it at the proper angle…"

"I don't want it," Brittany snapped. Then she caught herself for acting so harshly toward him. "I mean, I think we should keep looking."

Simon sighed, obviously regretting that he had agreed to accompany Brittany on the errand.

"What do you think of this one?" Simon pointed to another tree, a little bit smaller than the one he had previously shown her.

"Too scrawny," she dismissed.

"You know," Simon said impatiently, "back at your house you made it sound like this wouldn't be difficult. You led me to believe that you wouldn't be so peculiar about this."

Brittany shrugged innocently. "I just want this tree to be perfect."

"Perfection isn't always realistic," Simon pointed out.

"It is for me," she mumbled, channeling a bit of Old Brittany. She walked in another direction as Simon followed.

She kept asking herself why she had brought him along anyway. All he did was keep showing her ugly trees. Brittany wanted the Miller's Christmas tree to be large, beautiful, and perfect. Didn't everyone want their trees like that? Simon just didn't seem to get it.

The cold air nipped at Brittany's nose and stung her cheeks. Delicate snowflakes began to fall from the white sky. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck as she made her way through the thick snow. She was secretly glad that she hadn't worn her nice boots; they would have been stained with salt and wet snow.

She looked ahead and saw a lonely evergreen standing proudly a few feet away. She smiled and looked at Simon.

"That's the one!" Brittany said. She hurried over to it, admiring the tree with each step she took. It was tall, but not so tall that it would take over the house. All of the branches were in place, each one full of rich, dark green needles.

"Isn't it beautiful, Simon?" she asked, gazing at the tree as if it was a movie star. She had never been this excited over a stupid pine tree before. Usually when the Millers picked out their tree, Brittany would whine and complain every step of the way, saying it was too cold and begging her sisters to hurry up and pick a damn tree. But all of a sudden getting a nice Christmas tree meant as much to Brittany as shopping for the perfect pair of high heels.

"It's nice," Simon said. He examined the price tag. "Don't you think it's a little expensive though?"

Brittany looked at the tag and scoffed. "It's nothing. I made a lot of money interning for one of the fashion magazines in Europe."

Simon's eyes widened. "I didn't know you did that."

Brittany shrugged. "No one does."

"Why?" Simon asked. "I mean, that's quite an experience. Why wouldn't you tell anyone?"

"No one asked," Brittany simply answered, feeling a little hurt. She had done a lot of wonderful things in England, but hadn't talked to anyone long enough to tell them about it. And while Old Brittany would have bragged about these things non-stop, New Brittany chose to keep her poise and not say anything until it was brought up.

"Well," Brittany said, noting the concerned expression on Simon's face, "let's buy this thing and go home."

Simon nodded. He chopped the tree down with an axe and they began to walk to the main entrance of the farm. They were quiet as they walked; the only sounds were their boots crunching into the snow and the tree being dragged behind them.

"Thanks for coming with me," Brittany said, hating how quiet it was.

"You're welcome," Simon said. "It was… fun."

Brittany laughed. "No it wasn't. Most people wouldn't say shopping with me is fun, even when comes to tree shopping." She looked at him. "You were a good sport though."

"I tried," Simon said, returning a grin.

They fell into another silence. Brittany took a deep breath. She figured she should just get this over with…

"Thanks for calling me earlier this year," she said. "That was nice of you."

"You're welcome," Simon said again.

Brittany swallowed. "But, um, there's something I was wondering…"

"What?"

"Well," Brittany said, "I was just wondering why you would call me. I mean, it's not like we're really close friends or anything, and it was your _brother _who… well, did that to me. I guess I just don't know why you of all people decided to talk to me."

"First of all," Simon said, "just because Alvin is my brother doesn't mean I take his side on everything. What he did to you was wrong." Simon pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Second of all, just because we aren't particularly close doesn't mean I don't care about you."

Brittany blinked out of surprise. "You care about me?"

"Of course," Simon said. Strangely enough, he didn't sound uncomfortable admitting it. "I've known you and your sisters since I was a child, Brittany. You're practically like family. You all mean a lot to me."

"Oh," was all Brittany could say. For some reason, she felt a little disappointed that Simon had clearly said that Brittany_ and_ her sisters meant a lot to him. It made her feel less special that he making it sound like they were all on the same level in his eyes. "Well, I appreciated it. The call, I mean."

"I'm glad," Simon said, still pulling the tree through the snow.

"I'm sorry I cried so much," she said, slightly embarrassed. "That was probably weird for you."

Simon shrugged. "I didn't mind. I knew how upset you were."

Brittany had an urge to ask Simon if Alvin was ever upset after she left, but she stopped herself. She didn't want to be giving anyone ideas that she actually still cared for that jerk.

"Well thanks for just listening," Brittany said. "I just really needed someone to listen."

Simon chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Brittany asked.

"Nothing," he said. "I've just never heard Brittany Miller say thank you for anything, let alone three times in a matter of minutes."

"Things change," Brittany said with a grin. "I've changed."

"Yeah," Simon said, sounding a little more serious. "You have."

Brittany couldn't quite read Simon's face when he said that. She couldn't tell if he was glad or disappointed.

"Well here we are," Simon said as he stopped in front of the warm barn where the trees were purchased.

Brittany hadn't realized they by the entrance until that moment.

After buying the tree and the long process of tying it to the top of the car, the duo drove home.

Brittany played with the tuner on the radio, trying to find a good station. She finally settled on a channel playing _Jingle Bell Rock_. Brittany quietly hummed along as Simon gave her a curious glance.

"What?" she asked, noticing his questioning look.

"I thought you hated Christmas music."

Brittany laughed. "When have I ever said that?"

"Every December since you were eight years old," Simon replied without hesitation.

The Chipette blushed. It was true, she usually made a big deal out of how annoying most Christmas songs were.

"I guess I'm just in the holiday spirit this year," she said. "I'm just feeling really pessimistic about this Christmas."

"You mean _opti_mistic," Simon politely corrected.

"That's what I said," Brittany fired back.

Simon sighed, too tired to argue. "Right. And what has made you so _optimistic _about this holiday season, Brittany?"

Brittany grinned. "I'm a new woman, Simon. And even though last Christmas was a huge disappointment, I just know _this_ Christmas is going to be amazing."

Simon slowly pulled into the Millers' driveway. "I hope it works out for you Brittany."

"It will," she said confidently.

…

"Wow," Brittany said breathlessly as she admired the beautiful Christmas tree in the living room. It was elegantly decorated in garland, tinsel, lights, and ornaments. Usually Brittany would have thought all the decorations put together would look tacky, but she and Simon had made the tree look classy.

"You were right about this tree," Simon admitted. "It was a good choice."

"I told you so," Brittany said with a smile. The smile widened as she looked at the beautiful angel that sat at the very top of the tree. "Isn't it the prettiest tree you've ever seen?"

"It's very exquisite," Simon replied.

Brittany rolled her eyes, once again wondering why the boy couldn't just give the simple answer of "yes."

"Well, I better be going," Simon said. He reached for his coat.

"Okay," Brittany said, half listening to what Simon was saying. She was still in awe by the Christmas tree.

"Good bye," Simon said, opening the front door.

The cold air rushed into the room, getting Brittany's attention. She made her way to the door, stopping Simon just in time.

"Thanks for helping me with the decorations," Brittany said. "It would have been impossible for me to reach all those high places without you."

"I'm glad I could help," Simon said.

Brittany nodded, unsure of what to say. She had spent the whole afternoon with the guy and still had trouble keeping a conversation with him.

"So," Brittany said. "See you around."

"Yes," Simon said. "See you around."

She watched him leave, heading toward his house across the street. She looked at the Sevilles' house and saw Alvin through the front window. Her heart began to pound as she quickly shut the door. She hoped he hadn't seen her looking at him.

Brittany went back into the living room. She sat on the couch and looked up at the pretty tree that she and Simon had spent the last hour and a half decorating to perfection.

And then she cried.

She tried her hardest not to, but she couldn't help it. There she was, sitting by this lovely Christmas tree, thinking that one nicely decorated pine tree would make her feel happy.

It didn't. It only made her think of how great things were going last year. She was close to Miss Miller and her sisters, she was in love, and she felt comfortable around the Seville family. Everything was so wonderful this time a year ago; now all of that was gone and no dumb tree was going to fix it.

"Get a grip," she told herself between sniffles. "Everything is going to be fine. You don't need Alvin to be happy."

Brittany took a deep breath and exhaled.

At that moment, she promised herself that would be the last time she would cry over the past. It was time to move on.

Alvin was history. Old Brittany was history.

With that, Brittany stood up and went to her room to start wrapping her Christmas presents. It was time to focus on the future once and for all.

* * *

**Another A/N (lucky you!): **Okay, if you haven't figured it out, this is leaning toward being a Brimon-type story, but I hope that doesn't completely turn off some of you mixed couple haters. It won't be strictly, 100% mixed couples. What do I mean by that? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned! Oh, and leave a review. I like those. :)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay, so obviously this isn't going to be finished by Christmas, considering that it's almost January as I publish this chapter. So do you think I should keep going or wait until next December comes around? I mean, I'll continue if you guys don't mind reading a Christmas story when it's not Christmas… but if not, then I can wait. Anyway, let me know what you all think in a wonderful review!

* * *

_**A crowded room full of tired eyes,**_

__

**I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice.**

* * *

The heavy snowfall continued the rest of the night and into early morning. By the time the Chipettes woke up, the ground was covered in white. It was Sunday, but if it had been a weekday, all the schools in the area would have been cancelled for sure. The roads were covered in ice and snow, an indication that everyone would be staying at home today.

Brittany spent most of the day playing board games and talking to her sisters. They had begun to relax around each other a little more, being more playful and casual. It reminded Brittany of times before they went off to college, before everything changed.

"Where is Miss Miller?" Brittany suddenly asked when they were playing Monopoly. Brittany had never been a big board game fan, but she usually played with her sisters on days when school was closed. Although she never saw the point of playing; Jeanette always won.

"I think she's taking a nap," Jeanette replied, moving her little car piece along the board.

"It seems like she takes naps a lot lately," Brittany observed. No one answered, which Brittany found a little odd. Her sisters had been talking nonstop up to that point. "Um, so you know when you guys told me that Miss Miller knew I was coming home?"

Brittany watched her sisters exchange glances.

"We remember," Eleanor said.

"I talked to her yesterday," Brittany went on, "and it didn't seem like she knew I was coming. She didn't seem mad at me either."

"Why would she be mad at you?" Jeanette asked.

Brittany frowned. "Well, that's how you two made it seem. You basically told me that she was mad because I didn't visit all year. But when I talked to her yesterday, she didn't even know that I had come home. And she was acting really weird. I asked why we didn't have a Christmas tree, and she didn't know why we would need one. It was like she forgot it was December."

Jeanette bit her bottom lip. Eleanor stared at her pile of Monopoly money.

"What aren't you telling me?" Brittany demanded. She hated when people kept things from her.

Jeanette sighed. "Well… let's just say Miss Miller hasn't quite been herself lately."

Brittany raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"She's losing her memory, Britt," Eleanor said. "It's been getting worse the last few months. We think its dementia, or maybe even Alzheimer's."

Brittany's heart sank. "Has she seen a doctor?"

"No," Jeanette said. "She refuses. She doesn't think anything is wrong."

Brittany took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. Not only was she upset about Miss Miller's possible condition, but she was angry at her sisters for not telling her this important information.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Brittany asked, her voice cracking at the word "tell." She couldn't decide if she wanted to appear sad or angry. "Why did you lie?"

"We didn't want to worry you," Eleanor muttered.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "This is unbelievable! She's the closest person to a mother I've ever had, and you weren't going to tell me she was sick?"

"Well," Jeanette said calmly, "we don't _know _if she's actually sick. We're just assuming that…"

"Make sure she goes to the doctor," Brittany said, not caring that she sounded bossy. "I don't care what you have to do; make sure she sees someone. This is serious, girls. She needs help."

Jeanette and Eleanor kept their eyes on the floor. Brittany couldn't believe how ridiculous they were being. Just because she was away didn't mean she wasn't part of the family. How dare they hide something so important from her?

"I can't believe you'd do this to me," Brittany went on. "What _else_ are you keeping from me?"

Jeanette's eyes widened and she turned to Eleanor. Eleanor continued to look at her colorful fake cash.

"Oh my God!" Brittany said, her jaw dropping. "You _are _keeping something else from me!"

"Um," Jeanette said, "well, Brittany…"

"We sold some of your clothes in the garage sale this spring," Eleanor said quickly. "Sorry. We should have asked you."

Brittany raised an eyebrow. She knew that wasn't the big secret; but it did explain the lack of clothes in her closet.

"Whatever," she said, peeved that her sisters were obviously hiding something from her. "Those clothes weren't my style anymore anyway."

Eleanor let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you're not upset! Gosh, I've wanted to get that off my chest for _days!"_

Brittany didn't say anything as she stared at the Monopoly board. Something was up, and she was going to figure out what it was.

…

Twenty-four hours later, Brittany was standing in front of her full length mirror that hung on the inside of her closet door. She admired her reflection, grinning with every turn. She wore a tight, dark green long-sleeved shirt under a white vest. Her designer jeans made her butt look perfect, and emphasized her long legs all the way down to her black ballet flats. Brittany gave her caramel-colored hair a last second helping of hair spray as she tossed it over her shoulders. She looked _ah-mazing._

She and her sisters were getting ready to the Seville's house. Every year, the six of them drew names from a hat, and had to buy a Christmas gift for the person they randomly selected. Brittany loved the tradition when she was younger, but she found it to be sort of lame after she hit her teenage years. Plus she always ended up getting someone boring like Jeanette or Theodore… not really a good opportunity to show off her shopping skills.

Brittany sprayed a few squirts of her favorite perfume on her neck. She wanted to look good for tonight, mostly for Alvin. She wasn't dressing up to impress him or anything; she wanted to look hot to remind him of how much of a fool he was for letting her go.

"This'll make him suffer," Brittany said with a devilish smile as she adjusted the diamond earrings in her lobes.

There was a knock at the door, and Brittany yelled, "Come in!"

Jeanette opened the door to the perfume-scented room. She looked at Brittany and blinked in surprise. Her gaze fell to Brittany's green top.

"What?" Brittany asked, looking down. "Did I spill something?"

"No," Jeanette said. "It's just… well… it's green."

"So?"

"So," Jeanette said slowly. "You hate green."

Brittany frowned. "Jeanette, those days are long gone. Green is a great color me; it goes well with my hair."

Jeanette just nodded, trying to get used to seeing Brittany in such a foreign color. Not that Brittany could blame her; for years, Brittany had made a big deal out of hating the color green, saying that it clashed with her blue eyes. But being picky over a color was something Old Brittany would have done. New Brittany has the confidence to wear any color.

Although Brittany had to admit that wasn't totally sold on green yet. She tried her best to not think of herself as a giant four leaf clover, but it was difficult. She had to keep reminding herself that she could pull of any shade, any time.

Eleanor's voice came from down the hall, getting closer to Brittany's bedroom: "Hey guys are we almost ready to…" she trailed off when she saw Brittany's outfit. "Wow. Green."

Brittany rolled her eye-lined eyes to the ceiling. "It's not a big deal, girls. It's just a color."

"A color you hate," Eleanor pointed out.

"Let's just go," Brittany said with a sigh. She applied another coat of lip gloss as her sisters left to get their coats. She rubbed her lips together and puckered in front of the mirror.

_Perfect,_ she thought.

"You little heartbreaker," Brittany told her reflection. With a confident smile and a quick toss of the hair, she was ready to go.

_Show him what he's been missing._

…

Brittany leaned back as Alvin pushed his cap closer to her face.

"You're turn," he said with a grin.

Brittany pushed the hat away from her face. She was the last one to draw a name out of Alvin's old red cap. She couldn't believe he still had that ratty thing.

"Go on," Alvin coaxed, waving the hat from side to side.

Rolling her eyes, Brittany reached into the hat and pulled out the tiny slip of paper. She was playing it cool on the outside, but her heart was pounding and her stomach was in knots. She hoped, wished, and prayed that she didn't get a certain Chipmunk's name.

Taking a deep breath, she carefully unfolded the paper.

_Please,_ she silently willed, _let it be anyone except…_

She looked down.

_Alvin._

Her head began to pound with frustration. She wished she had gone first; that way, if she got Alvin, she would be able to lie by saying she got her own name and would have to choose again. Unfortunately she had no such luck, despite her stupid four leaf clover shirt.

Then the Chipmunks and Chipettes began to go their separate ways, in various areas in the large house. To Brittany's dismay, Alvin sat right next to her, making the couch cushion squeak under his weight. He smelled like cinnamon-flavored chewing gum and expensive cologne. The familiar mix of scents tickled Brittany's nose, reminding her of all the times they had spent together on that very couch.

"So," he said, "what's with the green?"

Brittany sighed. "_Why_ is everyone making such a big deal about this freaking green shirt?"

"Oh, I don't know," Alvin said with a laugh. "Maybe because you've hated it with a passion for the last ten years and you'd always go on about how you would never wear it."

"Things change," Brittany said with a shrug. "People change."

"Yeah," Alvin said, his voice quieter than usual. "They do."

Brittany wondered what he meant by that. Hell, _he_ probably didn't even know what he meant. Alvin didn't take his eyes off her, which made Brittany feel uneasy. But Instead of showing discomfort, she decided to be upfront with him. She decided that she had to remind him that she was stronger than he thought.

"Look," she said quietly so the others wouldn't hear, "I know what you're trying to do. And like I told you before, it's _not_ going to happen. So stop wasting your time and mine, and just give up."

Alvin gave her a crooked little smile, knowing that she couldn't resist his cocky charm.

"You know I don't give up easily," he reminded her.

"Neither do I," Brittany shot back. She wasn't sure what she meant by that, but it sounded good to her at the time.

"I just want to talk to you, Brittany," Alvin said, a hint of pleading in his voice. He sounded serious, but Brittany wasn't totally convinced. She knew how good of an actor he could be.

"We _are_ talking," Brittany said. "And we haven't gotten anywhere. All you've done is pester me."

Alvin rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

"Well forgive me for not feeling so light," Brittany said, the words uncontrollably spilling out.

Alvin leaned back. "Whatever. You'll come around. I know you will."

Brittany stood up to leave. "Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that."

She slowly walked away. As she did, she felt Alvin's eyes on her. He was checking her out.

This made Brittany grin, as this was her plan all along. He probably hated himself right now for letting such a beautiful girl walk out of his life.

Brittany also couldn't help but be proud for blowing him off again.

_Brittany- 2. Alvin- 0._

But as she walked, his words replayed in her head_: You know I don't give up easily._ Brittany knew this was true. She was dealing with Alvin Seville, the guy who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. And in this case, he wanted Brittany. Or at least he said he did.

But Brittany wasn't going to let that happen. He didn't deserve her. He had his chance, and he blew it the second he let that other girl put her lips on his.

Brittany glanced back. She instantly wished she hadn't. Alvin was still looking at her, the corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile. His face seemed to say,_ I know what you're trying to do. It's cute and amusing, but you can't fool me._

And she was sure that's exactly what he was thinking. She knew that boy better than she knew herself; and that was especially true these days, when she wasn't even sure who she was anymore.

She stared back at him, determined not to let him think she was weak. Brittany narrowed her eyes into an icy glare before she turned and kept walking, nearly bumping into Simon.

"Oh!" Simon exclaimed as a few drops of liquid jumped out of the glass he was holding.

"Sorry," Brittany muttered, her mind still on Alvin.

"It's all right," Simon said, wiping his shirt with a hand. He frowned when he saw her expression. "Is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" It came out snappier than she intended.

Simon shrugged. "You tell me."

Brittany snorted. Like she was going to discuss her problems with _Simon_ of all people. Sure, she had confided in him before, in a time of pathetic desperateness; but she was thinking clearer this time, and she wasn't about to humiliate herself again.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Just a little tired."

As Brittany started to walk away, Simon said, "You drew Alvin's name, didn't you?"

Brittany froze.

"No," she said slowly. "I got Jeanette."

Simon shook his head. "No. _I_ got Jeanette."

Brittany rolled her eyes. She had been caught. She hated getting caught. "How the hell did you know I got Alvin?"

Simon grinned. "Lucky guess."

"Okay," Brittany sighed. "Not that it's any of your business, but yeah, I got Alvin. I have to get the guy who cheated on me and broke my heart into a million pieces a gift on the holiest day of the year. So, yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled about it."

"I see," Simon said.

Brittany frowned. "That's it? That's all you have to say? 'I see?'"

"I'm sorry," Simon said, trying to hold back a smile. "Were you expecting something else?"

Brittany sighed. "Honestly, I don't know what to expect from anyone anymore."

"That's not such a bad thing," Simon said. He took a sip of whatever was in his glass. "If you like surprises."

"I don't like surprises," Brittany said without thinking. She instantly thought of the "surprise" she got last Christmas Eve when she opened Alvin's bedroom door.

Brittany snuck another look at her ex-boyfriend. He was looking at her and Simon with a curious look, probably wondering why they were speaking. When they dated, Brittany would always tell Alvin how boring Simon was and that she couldn't believe they were related. Alvin was under the impression that Brittany thought she was too good to talk to a geek like Simon.

And Brittany really did used to think that. Maybe in a way, she still did. But for some reason, Simon was willing to listen to her. And Brittany always took advantage of someone who would listen to what she had to say.

Then something interesting happened; Eleanor came up to Alvin. She sat next to him on the couch, leaned toward him, and spoke as if she was telling him a secret. Brittany watched as Alvin nodded to what Eleanor was saying. Then he turned toward her and said something else. Eleanor looked up, and for a brief moment her eyes locked with Brittany's.

Brittany quickly turned away, not wanting Eleanor to catch her looking at her and Alvin. She wondered what they could have been talking about; Eleanor and Alvin interacted about as much as Brittany did with Simon; not much. Sure, they sometimes had silly little sports debates Brittany never paid attention to, but besides that, they rarely spoke, let alone whisper to each other.

"Brittany?"

Brittany blinked, snapping back to reality. She forgot Simon had been standing there.

"Huh?"

"Are you sure you're all right?" Simon asked.

_"Yes!"_ Brittany said impatiently. "God, Simon! Just because I'm not smiling all the time doesn't mean I'm not all right!"

Simon frowned. "My apologies."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "I have to go." And with that, she headed toward the door. She needed to get out of that house.

She walked into the large hallway closet and plucked her coat off its hanger. She nearly ran into Dave, who was standing in the doorway.

"Excuse me," Brittany mumbled, squeezing her way past Dave. The longer she stayed, the more she wanted to leave.

"Did you get everything?" Dave asked.

"Yes," Brittany answered, softening up a little. Dave was still courteous even after she had practically shoved him out of her way only seconds earlier. "Thank you."

Dave talked as Brittany put on her coat.

"Brittany," he said kindly, "I know it probably isn't easy coming back here after everything that happened last year. But the boys and I are glad you came back home."

Brittany wasn't sure how to respond, so she just nodded, knowing he would continue.

"It wasn't the same without you in town, that's for sure," Dave said with a smile. "Anyway, I'm glad that you're still willing to keep in touch."

_Keep in touch?_ Brittany wondered. _I haven't talked to you in a year._

"Yeah, well, the Seville family is still a big part of my life," Brittany said, not sure if she really meant it or not. But Dave was being nice, so she figured she'd say something to make him feel happy. "You can't just forget about childhood friends."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Brittany. I was worried that after the break-up, our families wouldn't be as close. I hope that you and your sisters know that the boys and I are there for you no matter what."

"Thanks Dave," Brittany said, forcing a smile. Dave's "heart-warming" speeches were kind of like an ugly sweater… comforting and warm, but annoying and awkward when brought out in public. Brittany knew it was selfish, but she just wanted to go home. "Well, I have to go now."

"Okay," Dave said with a nod. "Tell Miss Miller I said hello. I haven't seen her in a while."

"Will do," Brittany said, shoving her hands inside her gloves. After a quick wave, she opened the front door and headed across the street.

The walk was short, but Brittany's nose and ears managed to numb in the cold. She would have given anything to be on the sunny, warm campus at UCLA, where she was miles away from snow, secretive sisters, and obnoxiously flirtatious ex-boyfriends.

Brittany hurried up the porch and yanked open the front door, eager to escape the cold. The house was completely dark except for the soft bluish light from the TV in the living room. Miss Miller was sitting on the couch. She looked up when she heard Brittany close the door.

"Hi Jeanette dear," she called. "How was the party?"

Brittany frowned. _Jeanette?_ How could Miss Miller call her Jeanette? Despite them being sisters, Brittany looked nothing like Jeanette. Jeanette's hair was several shades darker, not to mention the obvious height difference; she was at least four inches taller than Brittany.

"Actually," she said, "it's me, Brittany. And it wasn't really a party. It was just a…"

"Brittany?" Miss Miller's eyes widened. "Why, when did you get back? I thought you were in school!"

Brittany's heart broke. This was really serious. Miss Miller was losing it.

"I've been here for a few days now," Brittany said slowly.

Miss Miller frowned. "What? No, I would have remembered that."

Brittany didn't respond. Instead, she walked over to her former guardian and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Good night Miss Miller," she said. Her heart suddenly felt heavy, as if she might cry.

"Good night dear," Miss Miller said. "I'm so glad you're back."

Brittany just nodded. She wasn't so glad to be back. She was starting to regret ever coming back in the first place.

* * *

**Eh, not my best writing. But it's a filler chapter, things will get better shortly. Remember, I'm open to suggestions, so if you have one, tell me in a review or PM. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Well, here it is: Chapter 5! And you didn't even have to wait that long for it! Not much to say about this one. I admit, I did sort of ramble on in some parts, or at least that's what it feels like I did. But I think it turned out okay overall. Let me know what you think with a… well, you know the drill.

* * *

_**My God, I thought you were someone to rely on**_

_**Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on.**_

* * *

After racking her brain for three days trying to figure out what to get Alvin for Christmas, Brittany finally decided on the most impersonal thing she could think of: a twenty dollar gift certificate to the local Wal-Mart.

So that's why Brittany found herself standing in front of a shelf at the superstore on another snowy December afternoon. She looked through all the different patterns on the cards, trying to pick out the plainest design, just to remind Alvin that didn't give a crap about him or his stupid gift.

She finally chose a simple, solid blue card. No fancy script, no cute design; just a plain, boring card. When she reached for it, she heard someone call her name…

"Brittany! Oh my God, is that you?"

Brittany winced as she heard the familiar shrill voice. She turned around, and her fear was confirmed: standing a few feet away was her former classmate, Tessa Chandler.

Tessa was by far the perkiest person Brittany had ever known. The former cheerleader had been voted Most Talkative, Most School Spirit, and Best Smile in high school, winning each category by a landslide, and rightfully so. Brittany found Tessa's constant peppiness irritating, but since Tessa was pretty, she was automatically a member of the popular crowd, the same crowd Brittany associated with. Therefore, she was forced to deal with Little Miss Sunshine on a daily basis throughout her teen years, which nearly drove Brittany to insanity a number of times.

Tessa's naturally blond ponytail bobbed up and down as she skipped toward Brittany. She wasted no time embracing Brittany into a warm hug, and Brittany reluctantly hugged back. Tessa smelled strongly of cotton candy scented perfume and strawberry lip gloss, which instantly brought back memories of the millions of other hugs Brittany had received from Tessa over the years.

"Oh my gosh!" Tessa gushed as she pulled away. "I haven't seen you in, like, _forever!_ How_ are_ you?"

"I'm great," Brittany replied with false enthusiasm. "How are you?"

"Never been better!" Tessa said with a wide smile. "So where have you been all these months?"

Brittany briefly told Tessa about the time she spent in Europe, and that between illnesses and previous commitments she hadn't been able to make it home until recently.

"Oh," Tessa said, nodding. "I see. I know it was probably hard to come back to Alvin, after what he did to you."

"Yeah," Brittany said, forcing herself to remain calm about the fact that it seemed like the whole city knew what Alvin had done to her.

"And plus the whole thing with Eleanor," Tessa went on. "It's probably weird knowing that your sister has hooked up with your ex-boyfriend, especially since you guys dated for, like, ever."

Brittany's lips parted, as her mouth suddenly felt very dry. Her mind raced to catch up with what her ears had just heard; for a moment, she couldn't quite piece it together… _Sister. Ex-boyfriend. Hooked up._

_Oh. My. God. _

Tessa looked worried as she studied Brittany. "Brittany? Are you okay?" then Tessa gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my gosh! You _did_ know about Alvin and Eleanor, right?"

Brittany took a deep breath, hoping that she wouldn't puke all over Tessa's stylish white overcoat. She then realized how foolish she would look if it looked like she hadn't known about Alvin and Eleanor.

"Of course I knew," Brittany said, putting her good acting skills to use. She still felt like she was going to barf. "I just don't like being reminded. It's still kind of weird for me, you know?"

Tessa nodded. "I understand. I'm just glad you already knew! I wouldn't want you to find out like this!"

"Yeah," Brittany muttered. "What a relief."

"Well," Tessa said, flashing her signature toothpaste-commercial-smile. "I have to go now, I'm late for a hair appointment. We've _got _to hang out sometime. You still have my number, right?"

"Of course," Brittany said, although she had no intention of calling up Tessa.

"Awesome!" Tessa squealed. She gave Brittany a quick hug before saying good-bye and running off, probably to unknowingly annoy another person.

Brittany knew she should get going too, but her legs wouldn't move; her whole body felt numb as she desperately tried to process the disturbing information she had just heard.

Eleanor and Alvin_. Hooking up?_ It just didn't make sense.

Or maybe it did, a little. Alvin and Eleanor had both been attending local colleges, and they both lived at home through most of the year, which meant they had plenty of opportunities to see each other. And Alvin was notorious for hooking up with any girl he could get his hands on; and in recent years, Eleanor had made a graceful transformation to chubby, pig-tailed cutie to beautiful, blonde bombshell. It did make sense that Alvin would go for a girl like Ellie.

And the fact that it made sense made Brittany feel sicker. Because while it was a typical Alvin move to go for an ex-girlfriend's sister, it was disappointing that Eleanor would do such a thing. Why would Eleanor willingly have a fling with the guy who ripped out her sister's heart and broke it in a million pieces? And what was worse was that Eleanor had never even told Brittany about it. _No one_ had told Brittany about it… she had to find it out from a former "friend" who she hadn't spoke to since her high school graduation.

But then again, maybe it wasn't true. Maybe Tessa had gotten the wrong information; she_ was_ kind of a ditz. This was the same girl who, when assigned to do a report about Civil Rights in History class, wrote a 2,000 word essay on the Civil War.

"I could have sworn she said _war_, not _rights!" _Tessa had whined when the teacher handed her paper back with a fat red "F" at the top.

But Brittany had a gut feeling that this Alvin/Ellie thing was true. The clues fit together perfectly; Eleanor and Jeanette being weirdly secretive, Eleanor and Alvin whispering about her, and the fact that tomboy Eleanor was suddenly wearing make-up for casual occasions.

And what exactly did Tessa mean by "hooked up?" Hooking up can mean a lot of things. Did they just kiss? Did they go on a date? Did they make out? Did they have sex?

Brittany shuddered at the thought.

"Excuse me, miss," a middle aged man said as he accidently bumped into Brittany as he made his way through the crowded aisle.

Brittany realized she had been standing in the same spot for about five minutes, staring at the colorful rows of wallet-sized gift cards. People probably thought she was insane.

Brittany decided to follow a philosophy she had come up with when she was in middle school: Don't let people see that you're down. You're fabulous, and you should let everyone know it, no matter what mood you're in.

So with her head held high, Brittany made her way to the check-out line, her high heels _click-clacking _on the tiled floor with every confident step. She was eager to get home and confront her lying sister about this whole Alvin thing. She needed to know the truth once and for all.

…

Brittany, who had driven well over the speed limit the whole way home, quickly turned the car in the short driveway. During her drive home from the store, she had been thinking about what to say to Eleanor; how should she approach the situation? She finally decided that she was just going to come out and say it: "How could you hook up with Alvin after the terrible thing he did to me, your own sister?"

And Brittany was actually looking forward to it. She wanted to see the ashamed look on her sister's face. She _wanted_ Eleanor to feel guilty. She wanted her to feel just as badly as Brittany had felt when she learned that her sister, one of her best friends, had been going behind her back all this time.

Brittany put the car in park and climbed out of the seat. She knew she was bringing out Old Brittany; New Brittany would probably handle this in a much calmer manner. But it was Old Brittany who had been scorned by Alvin; therefore Old Brittany had to settle this.

Brittany shook her head, realizing that it was really weird that she kept referring to herself as "Old" and "New" Brittany. She wondered if she had some weird schizophrenic problem or something.

"Brittany!"

Jeanette burst out of the front door and hurried to her sister. As Jeanette got closer to Brittany, Brittany could tell something was majorly wrong. Jeanette looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"Jeanette?" It didn't take long for Brittany to become overly concerned. Something was _definitely _wrong. "What's the matter?"

Jeanette struggled to catch her breath. "Miss Miller," she struggled to get the words out. "She's… she's _gone!_"

"Gone?" Brittany felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. "W-what do you mean _gone?"_

"She's not here!" Jeanette wailed. "She didn't leave a note or anything. Her cell phone is still here, and she didn't take the car…"

"Damn it, Jeanette!" Brittany's hand rested on her chest, relieved at what Jeanette had just said. "Don't _do _that! You scared the crap out of me!"

"But…"

"For a second there I thought you meant she was dead," Brittany said, her breathing slowly returning to normal.

Jeanette ran her hands through her dark hair and sighed. "This is really serious, Brittany," she wailed. "I don't know where she could have gone! It's dangerous for her to be out on the streets alone, especially for someone in her condition…"

Brittany interrupted her sister by grabbing her bony shoulders.

"Jeanette," she said, "calm down. We don't know she's on the streets. She might just be out taking a walk or something."

Jeanette's teal-colored eyes got misty as she gave Brittany one of the saddest, most scared faces she had ever seen. "Exactly," Jeanette said, sounding miserable. "We don't _know_. We don't know where she could be, Brittany. We _have_ to find her. Believe me," Jeanette looked Brittany directly in the eyes, "this is serious."

Brittany could tell that Jeanette was totally being serious. And something in Jeanette's voice made Brittany believe that this wasn't the first time Miss Miller had disappeared… which pissed Brittany off, because that meant there was yet another thing that her sisters had been keeping from her.

"Okay," Brittany said, taking a deep breath. She let go of Jeanette's shoulders. "Where's Eleanor?"

"She said she was going to run some errands," Jeanette said.

Brittany couldn't help but wonder if "running errands" was code for making out with Alvin.

"Call her," Brittany said. "Tell her what's going on and to help us look."

Brittany turned toward the Seville's house and thought of what Dave had told her before she left there a few nights ago: _"__I hope that you and your sisters know that the boys and I are there for you no matter what."_

"Come on," Brittany said, pulling Jeanette toward the large white house across the street.

"Where are we going?" Jeanette asked, struggling to pull her cell phone out of her jeans pocket and walk at the same time.

"To get help."

…

Luckily, Dave and all three Chipmunks were home when Brittany and Jeanette came barreling in the house.

After quickly explaining the dilemma, Dave didn't hesitate to take charge.

"All right," Dave said, trying to sound calm. "Let's not panic. We'll split up and look for her. Alvin and Theodore, take Alvin's car and search the east side of town. Simon and Brittany, take the SUV and search the west side. Jeanette and I will look around the neighborhood and ask people if they saw anything, and we'll look around town too. Keep your cell phones on, and call if you find her or hear any useful information. If we don't find her in an hour, we'll call the police."

And that's how, less than five minutes later, Brittany found herself in the front seat of the Seville's black SUV sitting next to Simon. She wondered why she was always getting stuck with Simon lately. It seemed like she saw him more than she saw her own sisters.

Simon backed out of the driveway and turned west. Brittany rolled her eyes when she looked at the speedometer.

"Simon," she said impatiently, "this is kind of an emergency. I'd appreciate if you went a little faster."

"I'm going the speed limit," Simon said, nodding toward a white speed limit sign on the side of the road. He was right; he was going _exactly _the speed limit: thirty-five miles an hour.

Brittany slumped in her seat. She needed _Fast and the Furious,_ not _Driving Miss Daisy._

As the car (slowly) made its way through the streets, Brittany stared out the window, keeping an eye out for her former guardian. With all the commotion, she had almost forgotten about how angry she'd been about the whole Alvin/Eleanor situation. She glanced at Simon, and decided it was time to get down to the truth.

"Did Alvin and Eleanor hook up when I was out of town?" Brittany asked.

"What?" Simon blurted. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"You heard me," Brittany said, waiting for an answer.

"Brittany," Simon said. She could tell he was trying to sound firm, but he sounded nervous and uncertain. "I don't think this is the best time…"

"I'm still looking for her," Brittany assured him. "I can multitask. Now tell me the truth. Did they hook up when I was gone?"

Simon let out a loud sigh. It was obvious that he didn't want to give Brittany an answer, which confirmed her worst fears.

"They did, didn't they?" Brittany sunk lower in her seat. Her throat tightened like she was going to cry.

"Yes," Simon reluctantly admitted. "They did, as you so delicately put it, hook up."

Brittany stared out the window. When Tessa told her the news, she had been angry… she was mostly angry at just the idea of Alvin and Eleanor getting together. Because that's basically what it was at the time… an _idea._ Brittany wasn't totally convinced it was true, coming from Tessa. She still believed that it might have just been a rumor. It was typical for Alvin, one of the most popular guys in town, to be the center of a scandalous rumor.

But since Simon confirmed it, Brittany just felt heartbroken. Simon wouldn't lie to her; Alvin and Eleanor had gotten together sometime within the last year. Despite the fact that Alvin claimed to still love her, and despite the fact that Eleanor had seemed so supportive toward Brittany after Alvin did what he did, they ended up not caring about Brittany's feelings at all.

"When did it happen?" Brittany asked.

"I'm not completely sure," Simon admitted. He looked very uncomfortable. "I'm assuming it happened in late summer. Since Alvin had to transfer to a local college, he ended up living at home. Eleanor lived at her home too, and since they were the only ones home… well, I suppose one thing led to another…" Simon trailed off, leaving Brittany to figure out the rest.

"I can't believe this," Brittany groaned. "Why would they do this to me?" Another thought dawned on her. "Are they still together?"

"I don't believe so," Simon said, pushing his thick glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

Brittany buried her face in her hands. "How could they?"

Simon shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. It looked like he wanted to say something, but wasn't quite sure how to put it into words.

"What?" Brittany asked, turning toward Simon. She figured he was going to tell her another secret by the strange way he was acting.

"Well," Simon said slowly. "If you don't mind me asking… why do you care?"

Brittany blinked. "Excuse me?" Was he _serious?_

Simon shrugged. "It's just that you've been giving everyone the impression that you're over Alvin. You've tried changing your look and personality so you can distance yourself from him. Yet, when you find out that Alvin has been interested in another girl, you get upset."

Brittany's eyes narrowed. How dare he make her look so foolish?

"I'm not upset because of _Alvin_," Brittany spat. "I'm upset at the fact that my own_ sister_ has been lying to me all this time."

"Oh come on, Brittany," Simon said, rolling his eyes. "You know why Eleanor didn't tell you. Why anyone wouldn't tell you. We knew how you would react. You're upset that Alvin has moved on."

Brittany frowned. Why was Simon being so annoyingly insensitive?

And he was _obviously_ wrong. Brittany was more upset with Eleanor than Alvin. She couldn't care less about stupid Alvin.

Or at least, that's what she told herself.

"And I didn't change myself because of Alvin," Brittany added. "That was just a personal choice. I needed a make-over."

"I don't think so," Simon said, slowly building up more confidence. "I believe that you thought if you changed yourself, you'd become a new person; a person who doesn't need Alvin in her life. That's how much he hurt you; enough for you to want to change yourself completely. You thought there was something wrong with the old you to make Alvin cheat, and you were determined to change that. Thus the new clothes and attempt at a calmer personality."

"Attempt?" Brittany blurted.

"Well, yes," Simon said with a condescending smile that reminded her of Alvin. "You _tried _to act differently. But the Old Brittany wouldn't completely go away, which made things even more complicated for you. Like when we were getting that Christmas tree last week. You were still your old, impatient self."

Brittany's stomach turned over when Simon mentioned "Old Brittany." Was this guy physic?

"You're spending way too much time looking into this," Brittany mumbled, offended that he was being so insulting. She had heard him say not-so-nice things to Alvin before, but he had never spoken to Brittany like this. "Are you studying me for some stupid college project or something?"

"Not at all," Simon said coolly. "It's just simple psychology. As much as you don't want to love Alvin again, you still do. He's all you've ever known. He's too big of a part in your life to let go."

Brittany swallowed hard, trying to keep herself together. Simon had it all wrong. She _had _let go. She had let go of Alvin months ago.

"You're wrong," Brittany said, her voice sounding much meeker than she had wanted. "Alvin hurt me, and I'm never going to forgive him, let alone love him again."

"Brittany," Simon said, sounding gentler than he had the last few minutes of his ridiculous Brittany analysis. "I'm not saying these things to upset you or argue with you. I just think you should stop pretending to be something you're not just so you won't get hurt again."

Brittany tipped her head back to stop her tears from flowing. What was _wrong_ with her? Why was she letting Simon talk to her this way? Why was she getting so emotional? And why wasn't she arguing with him anymore?

"Yeah," Brittany finally said, her voice cracking. "Okay, Simon, if it makes you feel any better, you got me. I'm messed up. I want things to be different because I don't want to love him anymore. But at the same time, I want everything to go back to normal… I want to be able to trust my sisters again, to be close to them again. I want Miss Miller to remember me again. I want…" Brittany let the tears slide down her cheek. She might have been acting like a blubbering fool, but she had enough sense to not admit that she wanted Alvin again. "I just want things to be good again," she summed up.

"Things _can_ be good again, Brittany," Simon said, still searching the area for Miss Miller as he drove. "Different, but good."

Brittany sniffled. "I don't even know who I am anymore, Simon. I want to be like how I was, but I just… can't." Brittany took a shaky, deep breath.

"Well," Simon said. Brittany could tell he was trying to be patient with her, but he looked a little annoyed. "If you think about Brittany, is it really a big deal? I mean, I don't blame you for being upset for a while, but I think perhaps it's time to move on."

Brittany stared at the Seville brother as he carefully drove through town. Simon may be smart… a genius, even. But he was absolutely clueless when it came to anything romantic.

_"Move on?"_ Brittany repeated in disbelief. "Alvin meant _everything _to me, Simon. I loved him. Do you have any idea how much it hurt to see him kissing another girl the way he used to kiss me? God! For a smart guy, Simon, you're pretty dumb." Brittany wiped her tears from her eyes. "You've obviously never been in love before, have you?"

Simon didn't answer. Instead, he stared straight ahead and continued to drive.

"I didn't think so," Brittany said, not caring that she was being mean.

The two rode in silence for a while, each trying to gather their thoughts. Brittany hated to admit it, but maybe Simon was right about a few things, like why she wanted to change. And she realized that throughout their conversation, she had contradicted herself a few times. She said she had no feelings for Alvin, but she basically admitted that she wasn't over him cheating on her.

And, okay, as much as she didn't want to admit that she missed Alvin, she did. A little. Okay, a lot. But it wasn't like they had been dating for a few months; Brittany and Alvin had had a special relationship ever since they were kids. Sure, they didn't always see eye-to-eye, and they had infamous childhood arguments about who was the better singer or the most popular. But Alvin was one of the first people in Brittany's life (besides her sisters) who really meant something to her. He was her first rival, her first crush, her first date, her first slow dance, her first kiss, her first boyfriend… her first _love_. He was the first guy to get into a fight for her, the first guy to buy her diamonds for her birthday, the first guy she made love to. Brittany couldn't help but care about him, as much she tried not to; he was just too much a part of her life, like Simon said.

Although he also happened to be the first guy to break her heart.

"I'm sorry," Simon finally said, breaking the silence. "I don't know why I starting blabbing about all these theories. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, and I'm truly sorry if I did."

Brittany sighed. "It's okay. You actually… well, let's just say you weren't completely wrong about a lot of the things you said."

Simon glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "So you _do_ have feelings for Alvin?"

Brittany wanted to say no, but what was the point? Simon would know she was lying. And she had already totally let her guard down in front of him, letting him see her act like a helpless lunatic going through an identity crisis… _twice._ However, she couldn't just outright tell anyone that she still loved Alvin; she still had enough pride to keep that a secret between Old Brittany and New Brittany.

"I don't know," Brittany said with a shrug. "Maybe." Brittany looked at Simon, who looked a bit puzzled by her answer. "Let's just say that I don't hate him as much as I pretend to, okay? But don't let him know that, because I do _not _want to get back together with him."

"Really?" Simon asked, raising his eyebrows. "You have no interest in getting back together."

"None," Brittany confirmed, even though she knew perfectly well that at the right moment, Alvin could easily change her mind with a kiss. Brittany usually considered herself pretty strong, but kissing was her weakness. When Alvin (or anyone, for that matter… not that she had kissed very many people other than Alvin) kissed her, she lost all control. It was her Kryptonite.

And she was pretty sure Alvin knew that.

"Huh," Simon muttered to himself. "Interesting."

_Interesting?_ Brittany thought. She wondered why that was so interesting.

Simon's cell phone started to ring from the pocket of his coat. He pulled it out and placed it on Brittany's seat, right beside her lap.

"Would you mind answering that?" Simon asked.

Brittany frowned. "It's _your _phone."

"I'm driving," Simon said, as if that explained everything.

Brittany sighed at yet another one of Simon's weird elderly habits. But she answered the phone anyway.

"Hello?"

"Brittany?" It was Dave. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Brittany replied. "Apparently Simon can't drive and talk on the phone at the same time. Did you find Miss Miller?"

"Yes," Dave said. "We did."

Brittany's grip on the phone tightened. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Dave said.

"Thank God," Brittany said, feeling her whole body relax. "Where was she?"

"She's standing outside where the old night club used to be on Raspberry Street," Dave said. "But Jeanette and I are having trouble getting her to come home with us. She keeps saying something about meeting her friend, Eloise, here. Do you know anything about an Eloise?"

Brittany shook her head, but remembered Dave couldn't see her over the phone.

"I don't think so," Brittany said. She looked out the window and immediately realized where she and Simon were. "Simon, take a right up here."

"Why?"

"Just do it," Brittany commanded, although Simon wasn't slowing down. They were going to miss the street. "Simon! Turn!"

Simon slammed on the brakes and made a sharp right, just in time. A jeep behind them angrily honked their horn.

"Brittany!" Simon yelled. "Why are we…?"

Brittany held up a hand, signaling Simon to be quiet.

"Dave," she said. "Stay there. We're coming to help."

* * *

**Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far; I really appreciate all of them. Please continue to do so, to let me know that you're reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Aww, you guys are so nice for reading a Christmas story on Valentine's Day. Not too much to say about this chapter… I hope you like it.

* * *

_**I keep my distance**_

_**But you still catch my eye**_

* * *

Brittany hung up Simon's cell phone and placed it on the dash board.

"What was that all about?" Simon demanded, obviously caught off guard by Brittany's sudden navigation changes.

"Dave and Jeanette found Miss Miller on Raspberry Street," Brittany explained. "They're at the old night club. I told them we'd meet them there. Take a right at this stop sign."

Simon sighed, but obeyed.

"Why are we meeting them?" Simon wanted to know.

"I guess they're having trouble getting her come home with them," Brittany said. The night club had been out of business for at least twenty years now. Brittany didn't know much about it, besides that it was really big in the 1950s and 60s. She didn't know why someone hadn't bought the building or tore it down after all these years.

Simon raised an eyebrow. "And you think we could help them get her to leave?"

"Of course," Brittany snorted. "Jeanette and Dave are two of the most passive people on Earth. They're probably just standing there listening to Miss Miller ramble on."

"Why do you do that?" Simon asked.

Brittany frowned. "Do what?"

"Say mean things about people who care about you," Simon said. There was no anger or hurt in his voice; just pure curiosity.

Brittany stared at the tall boy in the driver's seat. She didn't think she was being harsh at all. She had said a lot nastier things before; why was Simon suddenly so concerned about what she said?

"I didn't say anything mean," Brittany said. "You just assume that being passive is a bad thing."

"Well," Simon said, "it sure sounded like_ you_ meant it to be a bad thing."

Brittany crossed her arms over her chest like she did when she didn't get her way as a child. If anyone was being mean, it was _Simon._ He was the one who had been calling her out all day, acting like he was an expert on her life and that she was just an over-sensitive screw-up. He was really starting to get on her nerves.

This was too bad, because she was actually starting to enjoy Simon's company.

A few turns later, Simon parallel parked into an empty space by the old building. A large, rusted sign that read_ Club Razz _let Brittany know that this was the right place. She vaguely remember Miss Miller talking about Club saw Miss Miller sitting on a bench next to Jeanette. Dave stood next to the bench, looking exhausted.

Brittany got out of the SUV and hurried over to them.

"Brittany," Miss Miller's eyes brightened. "What are you doing here, Sweetheart?"

_At least she remembered my name this time,_ Brittany thought.

"What are you doing here, Miss Miller?" she asked.

Miss Miller smiled and replied, "I'm waiting for Eloise. She's running a little late… but Eloise always dawdles, so I'm not surprised she isn't here yet."

Brittany's eyebrows knit together. "Eloise?"

Jeanette shrugged. "I'm assuming she's an old friend."

Miss Miller laughed. "Old? Hardly! Eloise is barely twenty."

Just then, Simon walked up.

"Oh look!" Miss Miller said, looking at Simon. "Another addition to the party! The club will be swinging tonight!"

Simon glanced at Dave, obviously confused.

"Miss Miller," Dave said, trying to be patient. "It's getting late. Why don't we go home? You could have dinner at our house."

"And miss the band?" Miss Miller stared at him incredulously. "Don't be ridiculous, David."

"There isn't a club anymore," Jeanette slowly explained. "It got closed down years ago. Eloise isn't coming."

Miss Miller rolled her eyes like an annoyed teenager. "Don't be silly Gina. Eloise is always here on Saturday nights."

"But its Thursday," Jeanette said. "And… I'm Jeanette, not Gina."

Miss Miller blinked. "That's what I said, dear."

Jeanette looked up at Dave, Brittany, and Simon. She didn't say anything, but her worried expression said it all: Miss Miller had never been this bad before.

Brittany took a deep breath, preparing to feel bad about what she was about to do. But no one else could get Miss Miller to come home, so this was their only hope.

"There's actually been a change of plans, Miss Miller," Brittany said casually. "Eloise called and said she'd meet you at our house."

"She did?" Miss Miller's eyes widened at this news. Brittany nodded, hoping that her little fib would get Miss Miller to leave with them. "Well why didn't you say so?" Miss Miller stood up. "You don't mind giving me a ride home, do you David? The walk here was so long, it killed my weak ankles!"

"I don't mind at all," Dave said, helping Miss Miller up. He gave Brittany a curious, but thankful glance. Dave wasn't a big fan of lying, but it seemed almost necessary in this case.

Brittany and Simon stood on the sidewalk and watched Miss Miller climb into the front seat of Dave's car. Jeanette got in the back, giving them an uncertain glance right before the car took off down the street.

The two stood in silence as they watched the red car get smaller and smaller as it moved further away.

"You lied," Simon said out of nowhere.

"Yeah," Brittany said with a shrug. "I did. But no one else was doing anything to get her to leave."

"You should have waited a few minutes," Simon told her. "I would have come up with something."

Brittany frowned. "I don't know why you're so upset. I did what I had to do; Miss Miller wouldn't have left for anything else."

"Things are going to get worse when she finds out that you lied to her," Simon pointed out.

"She won't remember I told her," Brittany replied.

Simon just shook his head, obviously tired of arguing.

"Let's just go," he said, heading toward his vehicle.

The last thing Brittany wanted to do was get back into the car with the guy who had been ridiculing her all afternoon, but she wasn't about to walk all the way home in her high heeled boots. So she followed Simon to the SUV, trying to convince herself the drive home was short and that she wouldn't have to talk to Super Nerd the rest of the day.

…

"Thanks for the ride," Brittany said politely as Simon turned into the Seville's short driveway twenty minutes later.

"You're welcome," Simon replied. "I'm just glad we found Miss Miller and that she was okay."

"Me too," Brittany agreed. She was about to say something else, but she paused when she saw who was standing on the Seville's porch.

_Alvin._

Brittany instantly felt foolish for feeling so surprised about seeing Alvin. After all, it was his _house_; she shouldn't be alarmed that he was there. But her heart wouldn't stop pounding as she climbed out of the SUV.

Alvin grinned and made his way toward Simon and Brittany. As he came closer, Brittany began to get that annoying light-headed feeling she had been getting when she saw him lately. She hadn't felt like this around him when they'd been dating; so tense and nervous. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew it was because she was afraid… afraid of falling in love with him again.

"I heard you guys found Miss Miller," Alvin said.

"Dave and Jeanette did," Simon said, locking the vehicle.

"Right," Alvin said, his eyes fixed on Brittany. "What a relief."

Simon looked at Alvin quizzically. He was obviously curious as to why Alvin had been waiting for them out in the cold weather.

"So Brittany," Alvin said. Brittany froze when she heard him say her name. "Got any plans for Saturday night?"

Brittany frowned, trying her best to put herself together. "Why?"

"I was thinking that maybe we could go do something together," Alvin said, casually.

Brittany's blue eyes narrowed. Was he asking her out on a _date?_ "Why would I want to do anything with you?" she asked.

"I don't know," Alvin said with a shrug. "Because you like me?"

Brittany's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe he had just accused her of liking him! Plus he had said it in front of Simon, who she had been trying to convince that she didn't like Alvin.

"In your dreams," Brittany said, surprised at how confident she managed to sound.

This didn't faze Alvin though. Instead he just smirked and said, "It's not like you have anything else to do on a Saturday night anymore."

Brittany stood up straighter. "Actually, I _do_ have plans for Saturday." She couldn't just let Alvin think she was a loser who stayed at home on a weekend night.

"Really?" Alvin rolled his eyes. "What, do you have a hot date or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a date," Brittany lied. Her mouth was working faster than her mind again.

"Oh, yeah?" Alvin's grin widened. He didn't have a reputation for being the smartest guy in town, but Alvin had always been good at realizing when people were lying. Even if they were good liars like Brittany. "Who's the lucky guy?"

Brittany thought hard, desperately trying to come up with a name. But she realized she couldn't just make someone up; Alvin would probably make sure she went out with someone. He was weird like that.

"What's wrong, Brittany?" Alvin asked, confidently folding his arms across his chest. "Did you forget his name?"

"Simon!" Brittany blurted.

"What?" Simon and Alvin both said at the exact same time. Simon's jaw dropped. Alvin's eyes widened.

"You heard me," Brittany said, hating herself for the mess she had just created. "Simon asked me out when we were in the car looking for Miss Miller. Right, Simon?"

Simon looked pale and confused. "Um…"

Alvin's shocked expression had quickly faded. He was now smiling, looking just as cocky as he had a few minutes before. "Wow. Brittany and Simon, out on a date. Who could have predicted this?" He looked at his speechless brother. "I bet Simon couldn't have!"

"Well it's true," Brittany said. "Isn't it, Simon?"

Simon looked at Brittany with a reluctant expression. She stared back at him, her eyes full of desperation.

_Please Simon,_ she silently begged. _Just do this one favor for me. Please._

"Yeah," Simon said, his voice cracking a little. He cleared his throat. "I mean, right. Brittany and I are going out on Saturday."

Alvin raised his eyebrows, clearly amused by all this. "I see. Well, I hope you two have fun. I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about, considering you two have_ so_ much in common."

"We have a lot more in common than what you think," Brittany shot back. "One of our similarities is that we don't whore around with any pretty blond that comes our way." Brittany had meant to be talking about the girl Alvin had cheated on her with, but she wondered if Alvin thought of Eleanor when she had referred to a blond girl.

Alvin sighed. "How many times do I have to apologize for that?"

"Until you mean it," Brittany said, her voice low and angry. She turned to Simon. "We decided on seven o'clock, right? Pick me up at my house?"

Simon nodded. He was obviously still in shock.

"Excellent!" Brittany said cheerfully. "Bye, Simon!"

She thought about giving him a quick peck on the cheek to try to make Alvin think that she liked Simon as more than a friend, but she decided that she had done enough damage. Kissing Simon would be going way too far; she had already agreed to go on a date with the guy, and that was bad enough!

Brittany hurried home across the street before Alvin could sneak in another comment. She felt relief when she entered her house and kicked off her boots.

The Chipette went into the kitchen, where Jeanette was sitting at the dining table looking at an old photo album. Several other albums covered the small table.

"Where is Miss Miller?" Brittany asked.

"She's resting in bed," Jeanette replied, turning a thick page of the album. "She said all that walking made her tired."

Brittany sat in the chair next to her sister and leaned over the table to get a better look at the album. "What are you doing?"

Jeanette turned another page. "I'm looking through albums to figure out who Miss Miller was talking about earlier. I haven't seen anyone named Eloise yet. Maybe I need to look back further." Jeanette closed the heavy book. Brittany saw someone had written _1972-1974_ on the cover.

As Jeanette reached for another album, Brittany's cell phone rang from her pocket.

"Hello?" Brittany said into the phone.

"What the hell was that?" Simon demanded.

Brittany rolled her eyes. She should have known that he would call.

Brittany got up from the table and hurried upstairs to her room. She didn't want Jeanette to overhear this conversation, or anyone else for that matter.

"Why are you dragging me into this?" Simon asked in his paranoid voice. "I want no part of this. I don't want to be involved…"

"It's too late for that, Simon," Brittany said calmly. "Sorry."

_"Sorry?" _Simon gasped. "You're _sorry? _That's all you have to say?"

"God, Simon, calm down," Brittany said, a little taken aback by Simon's erratic behavior. She had never seen (well, in this case heard) him act so paranoid. "It's really not that big of a deal."

Simon sighed. "Brittany, you know that Alvin isn't going to let this go. He's been grilling me about it the second you left. And you know he's going to make sure this date happens. We aren't going to get away with faking it."

"I know," Brittany said, sitting on her pink comforter. "But like I said, it isn't a big deal. We'll just go see a movie and get something to eat. It's not like we're getting married or anything."

"I don't know if I can do this," Simon said, sounding stressed.

"Wow," Brittany said in a flat tone. "I didn't think you'd be dreading to spend an evening with me this much."

Simon sighed again, and then groaned. Why was he so miserable about this? Brittany knew that hundreds of guys would be willing to do anything to be in his shoes; did Simon really hate her that much?

"It's not spending time with you that I'm upset about," Simon said, seemingly calmer than before. "I just don't like the idea of being used."

Hearing him say that made Brittany's heart hurt. She _really_ didn't want to feel guilty, but she couldn't help herself. She knew he was right; she was using him.

"I'm sorry," Brittany said sincerely. "I shouldn't have dragged you into this."

"No," Simon said in a clipped voice. "You shouldn't have."

"Right," Brittany agreed. She paused, as she knew where this was going…

She grinned when she heard Simon sigh for the third time in less than two minutes.

"So," he said reluctantly. "What movie are we going to see?"

Brittany gripped the phone tighter. "Thanks Simon."

"You're welcome," Simon said. "You owe me for this though. Big time."

"I know," Brittany said, lying on her back. "Now about that movie…"

…

After spending nearly twenty minutes debating with Simon about what movie to see and where to eat afterwards, Brittany went back downstairs. Her stomach made a gross gurgling sound, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in hours. Thanks to all this afternoon's events, she hadn't given much thought to food.

Jeanette was still seated at the table, only this time she was typing on her laptop.

"Find anything?" Brittany asked.

"I believe so," Jeanette said. She gently pushed an open album toward Brittany and pointed to a black and white photo in the middle of the page. There were four young women in the picture, all grinning for the camera and dressed in tight dresses that looked modern for the time period. Brittany recognized a young, blond Miss Miller immediately, but she didn't know any of the other girls.

She leaned in closer and saw that someone had written something below the photo: _Peggy__, Me, Eloise, and Vicky having a wonderful time at the Club Razz! (1952)_

Brittany looked at the pretty brunette girl standing next to Miss Miller, the girl she assumed to be Eloise. She had an elegant smile and a figure that even girls today would envy.

"By looking at other pictures, I found out her last name was Naylor," Jeanette explained. "With some online research and letters from Eloise to Miss Miller, I found out she married and her last name changed to Johnson. She moved to Kansas in the early 1960s with her husband and baby girl."

Brittany stared at Jeanette incredulously. It was official: her sister had no life. Of course, she knew she had no room to talk. She was the one who was going on a date with geek-tastic Simon Seville this weekend.

"What?" Jeanette asked, noticing Brittany's look.

"Nothing," Brittany said. "I was just thinking that you must have been really bored today."

"I just wanted to figure out what Miss Miller was talking about," Jeanette retorted. She picked up some wrinkled, off-white envelopes. "As I mentioned, I found some old post cards and letters, but as far as I know, Miss Miller hasn't talked to Eloise since the late 70s."

"So why would Miss Miller bring her up now?" Brittany wondered.

"I don't know," Jeanette said. "There's also something else… Eloise Johnson passed away seven years ago in Kansas. She had cancer."

Brittany looked at Eloise in the photo. She looked so young and beautiful; so carefree. Maybe it was wrong, but the only thought that ran through Brittany's mind was, _Getting old sucks._

Brittany was about to say something else when she heard the front door open. She heard footsteps approaching and felt bile rise to her throat when she saw who was walking into the Millers' kitchen, carrying a pizza box and wearing a cheery smile.

"Hi guys!" Eleanor said, setting the large box on the counter. Apparently she had been out Christmas shopping when she found out Miss Miller had ran away. Jeanette said that Eleanor had stopped her shopping to help search, but Brittany wasn't so sure. She didn't know if she could trust Eleanor ever again after what she had found out earlier that day. "I'm so relieved that you found Miss Miller. I figured you'd be hungry, so I picked up a pizza for dinner."

Brittany turned away from her sister. She couldn't stand looking at her, knowing that she had been going behind Brittany's back all this time.

"Whatcha doin'?" Eleanor asked, noting the crowded table. She opened the box to grab a piece of pizza.

As Jeanette explained to Eleanor what Miss Miller had said at the old night club, Brittany silently fumed in her seat. She watched as Eleanor ate her pizza. With each bite, Brittany willed her sister to get fat again. She didn't even care that it was mean, she couldn't resist.

_I hope each carb goes straight to her thighs,_ Brittany thought devilishly.

"… and so I was trying to figure out who Eloise is…" Jeanette went on.

"Eloise Naylor?" Eleanor asked, after swallowing a bite.

Jeanette's eyes widened. "Well… yes. How did you know her last name?"

Eleanor shrugged. "Miss Miller used to talk about her all the time. She always brought her up when she talked about the night clubs she used to hit when she was younger." Eleanor raised her eyebrows. "You guys don't remember her telling us that?"

Brittany and Jeanette exchanged glances. It made sense that Eleanor would remember something like that and the other two wouldn't; Ellie was the only one who usually paid attention to Miss Miller's stories when they were younger. Jeanette would often politely excuse herself to do homework or read. She would rather learn her history from a book. And Brittany's mind would always drift off in the middle of a tale; she would end up thinking about what outfit she would wear to school the next day, or her favorite music video on MTV.

But Eleanor always obediently listened, and would even ask questions.

"I think she died a few years ago," Eleanor said.

"Right," Jeanette confirmed. "She had cancer. But Miss Miller thought she was still alive earlier today. But she could recall who Eloise was, and what her traits were, such as that she was always late. She also knew the exact location of their favorite night club."

Eleanor nodded. "So how can Miss Miller remember stuff that happened in the 50s, but she can't remember our names?"

"I'm not sure," Jeanette said. "I'll do some research tonight and see what I can find out."

Brittany wanted so badly to yell that her sisters should have done research on this matter _months_ ago when they first noticed something wrong with Miss Miller, but she held back. She was too tired to argue.

"Do you guys want pizza?" Eleanor asked. She got up from her seat and went to get more plates.

"I'll have a slice," Jeanette said, not looking up from her laptop.

"Okay," Eleanor said, opening the box. "What about you, Brit?"

"I'm not hungry," Brittany said, unable to hide irritation from her voice.

Eleanor blinked a few times, a bit stunned by Brittany's harshness. "Um, alright. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Brittany said, even though the smell of the pizza sauce was making her mouth water. But she couldn't stand to be in the same room with Eleanor any longer. All she could think about was her sister making out with Alvin, and that thought made her sick with anger. "Just put some in the fridge and I'll heat it up later."

Brittany went up the stairs and headed for her room. On the way there, she paused by Miss Miller's room. The door was cracked open, and Brittany quietly pushed the door open further. Her former guardian was resting peacefully on her bed, her chest rising and falling with each steady breath. There was a hint of a smile on her lips, and Brittany chose to believe that Miss Miller was having some wonderful dream about her and her old friends dancing the night away at the club on Raspberry Street.

"I'm sorry Miss Miller," Brittany whispered from the doorway. She knew that if she hadn't stayed away from home so long, things wouldn't be as bad as they had become. She would have made Miss Miller see a doctor before things got out of control; maybe she could have gotten some sort of medicine or treatment to help her. Her sisters just weren't aggressive enough for this; nothing was getting done, and it drove Brittany crazy.

Brittany silently made her way to her bedroom, stomach still growling. She wasn't sure when she was going to confront her sister on the Alvin Thing, but it wasn't going to be tonight. Today had been stressful enough.

Brittany sighed as she collapsed on her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she remembered that she was going on a date with Simon tomorrow. She wasn't sure whether she was doing it to make Alvin jealous or prove that she wasn't a loser on a Saturday night. Maybe it was a combination of both. But either way she was using Simon.

_I just don't like the idea of being used,_ he had told her. She couldn't get that out of her head. He had genuinely been hurt by her "using" him.

_I'm no worse than Alvin,_ Brittany thought to herself. But she quickly reminded herself that she was _nothing _like that scumbag Alvin. She decided that she wasn't going to dread this date, and she wasn't going to be mean to Simon. She was going to be perfectly polite and kind; New Brittany was going to shine tomorrow night as Simon's date.

"Who knows?" Brittany said to herself. "Maybe we'll even have fun." But this was _Simon_ she was talking about. The guy who did extra credit assignments for fun. The guy who spent twelve straight days in his basement trying to prove a hypothesis on plant reproduction. The guy who arranged the clothes in his closet by color, size, and occasion.

"Oh, who needs fun anyway?" Brittany muttered, her stomach letting out a hungry growl.

Her siblings had flat-out lied to her, she had no boyfriend, her mother-figure was insane, one of her sisters had fooled around with her no-good-ex-boyfriend behind her back, and she was going to go out on a date with Simon Seville. If someone had told her a year ago that all this would happen to her, she would've laughed in their face (well, except for maybe the Miss Miller insanity thing. Miss Miller had always been a little nutty).

For the umpteenth time that week, she wondered why she had come home in the first place. Everything was so screwed up, and she didn't even know what she wanted anymore. The only thing she was looking forward to was leaving this place again; and not returning for a very, very long time.

* * *

So, how was it? Tell me what you think a review!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Normally this would be the part where I'd apologize about the chapter be uploaded so late. But I actually spent quite some time working on this; it's pretty long, and I actually took my time editing (well, more than usual). I've had this chapter in my head for a while and I wanted to get it right. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys think of it (unless you think it sucks… but I guess I can respect honesty). Anyway, hope you guys like this one!

* * *

**_But if you kissed me now_**

**_I know you'd fool me again_**

* * *

Brittany spun around in front of her mirror, making her skirt swirl around her slender thighs. She inspected each area of her body from head-to-toe, the way she always did while testing an outfit before a date. In the mirror, she could see the pile of blouses, skirts, and pants piled on her bed and floor. She had spent the last half hour trying to decide on the perfect ensemble for her date with Simon; something that said, "I like and respect you, but let's not forget that we're only doing this to make Alvin jealous."

She knew that sounded terrible, but it was the truth. She wanted to look good, but not good enough to make Simon think this was anything more than a friendly get-together.

But Simon was a smart guy. He would understand that this wasn't a real date.

Right?

Brittany glanced at her digital clock and realized that she had to make a clothing decision. Glancing over the clothes littering her bedroom, she grabbed a tight, black turtleneck sweater and jeans. After quickly changing into the outfit, she looked at her reflection. Satisfied, Brittany smiled as she admired how nicely the jeans made her butt look.

_Perfect,_ she thought. The top looked classy, but the jeans made her look casual too.

After straightening her hair and retouching her make-up, Brittany went to her jewelry box for accessories. Unfortunately, almost all of her jewelry had been gifts from Alvin when they had been dating. She dug through the box for a while until she finally came across a gold locket Miss Miller had given to her years ago. Brittany opened the locket to find a tiny picture of her, Jeanette, and Eleanor when they were ten years old. She was about to put it back in the box (she didn't really feel like being reminded of Eleanor at the moment) but the doorbell rang and Brittany made the decision to wear the necklace.

She fastened the clasp around her neck and sprayed some perfume on herself.

"Not too much," she said, squirting the bottle. Brittany coughed as the perfume cloud lingered around her face and got into her mouth.

"Brittany!" she heard Jeanette call from downstairs. "Simon is here to see you!"

"Coming!" Brittany yelled back. She hadn't mentioned her Simon date to Jeanette. She imagined her sister was probably very confused at the moment.

After one more glance in the mirror, Brittany grabbed her gold-colored Kate Spade hand bag and made her way downstairs.

She saw Jeanette and Simon sitting on the couch in the living room. Simon stood up when he saw her. He was wearing jeans and a light blue sweater, which brought out the grey shades in his eyes.

_Oh my God,_ Brittany thought. _Why am I looking at his eyes? Remember: This isn't a real date!_

"I'll be in my room," Jeanette announced, walking toward the stairs. She looked uncertainly at the odd couple. "You two have… fun."

"Hi," Simon said after Jeanette had left. Brittany noticed he was holding a yellow rose.

"Hi," she said curiously, unable to take her eyes off the flower.

"This is for you." Simon handed her the rose.

"Uh, thanks," Brittany said. She took the rose, but couldn't hide her confused expression. "Simon, you know this isn't a real date, right?"

"I know," Simon confirmed. "But the all day yesterday Alvin kept asking me why I hadn't gotten you anything for our date. He didn't believe that we were going to go out. So I picked this up at the flower shop today to shut him up." Simon grinned. "Don't worry. Yellow just represents friendship. Think of it as a friendly gesture."

"Okay," Brittany said. That was surprisingly thoughtful of Simon; getting her a gift, but a gift that strictly meant friendship only; because that's all Simon and Brittany would ever be: Friends.

Brittany went to the kitchen to find a vase to put the rose in. As she was filling up the vase with water, Eleanor strolled in.

"What is Simon doing here?" Eleanor asked.

Brittany rolled her eyes. Ever since she had found out about Eleanor hooking up with Alvin, she found every single little thing Eleanor did to be annoying. Every time her sister talked it was like nails on a chalkboard.

"We're going out," Brittany said, not bothering to even look at the blond.

Eleanor didn't say anything as Brittany placed the bright yellow flower in the vase. Brittany could tell that Eleanor was at a loss for words.

"Oh," Eleanor finally said. "I didn't know you liked Simon."

Brittany turned toward her sister and narrowed her eyes. "I _don't_ like Simon. We're just friends."

"But you said it was a date," Eleanor pointed out.

Brittany exhaled sharply through her nose. "Look, it's none of your business, okay?"

Eleanor scoffed and muttered, "Fine."

Brittany quickly walked past her sister and grabbed her coat from the closet.

"Let's go," she said to Simon, sliding into her black ballet flats.

Simon nodded and led the way out the door. Brittany had a feeling that this was going to be a mistake the second she stepped outside. What was she thinking, going out with Simon just to spite Alvin? How pathetic was that?

_Suck it up,_ Brittany told herself. She tried to channel the mature New Brittany. _You got yourself into this. This will teach you to think about what you say before you blurt something out._

She took a deep breath as she got into the car. She just knew that this night was going to make things even more complicated. She wasn't sure how, but she knew it was bound to happen by the way her luck had been going lately.

_Oh well,_ she thought. _Things can't get any worse than they already are._

Can they?

…

Two hours later, Brittany and Simon found themselves laughing in the food court at the local mall. Simon had just brought their food over, and they couldn't get over the movie they had just seen.

"That has got to be the most unintentionally funny horror movie I've ever seen," Simon said. "It was even worse than those corny made-for-TV movies."

"It was _so_ clique," Brittany agreed, dipping her French fry into some ketchup. She usually didn't eat fast food, but she figured she'd give in tonight. "I mean, come on, it was so predictable! The people who have sex always die…"

"And of course they decide to go in the scariest looking house when their car breaks down," Simon finished.

Brittany giggled at the memory. "Remember when that girl screamed for like ten minutes when the she saw the killer?"

Simon rolled his eyes. "How could I forget? My ears are still ringing."

"No kidding," Brittany said. "Oh, and remember when the skinny guy went into the…"

Brittany's voice trailed off when she saw a familiar red sweatshirt in the crowd.

"Brittany?" Simon said, noticing his date suddenly seemed very consumed by something. "What's the matter?"

He followed Brittany's gaze and sighed when he saw Alvin, who was now making his way toward the pair.

"You've got to be kidding me," Simon sighed.

"Hi lovebirds," Alvin said loudly. He crossed his arms across his chest. His figure created a dark shadow over the little table. "Wow, I can't believe you guys actually went through with this."

"What are you doing here?" Brittany asked, clearly not amused by his presence.

Alvin shrugged innocently. "Isn't a guy entitled to enjoy a little evening shopping at the mall?"

"Not when he's snooping," Brittany snapped.

Alvin laughed. "Snooping? Don't flatter yourself, Brittany. I'm just here to buy new shoes." He looked at Simon and shook his head sympathetically. "Simon, you can do better than this. We both know that Brittany is just using you to make me jealous. Don't let yourself be used, man."

"That's enough, Alvin," Simon said through clenched teeth. Brittany noticed that he didn't deny that he was being used, which made her feel like a jerk.

"Well," Alvin said. "I guess I'll leave you two alone. Have fun." From his tone, it was obvious that he didn't really want them to have fun.

Even after Alvin had walked away, Brittany still felt angry.

"He was spying on us," she said. "He wanted to make sure we went through with it. He thought we were bluffing." Brittany forced a smile. "We sure fooled him."

"Yeah," Simon said flatly. He was staring at his cheeseburger in front of him. "We showed him."

"Don't let what he said get to you," Brittany said before taking a long sip of Coke.

Simon's eyes met hers. "Why not?" he asked. "It's true." He sighed. "Well, you got what you wanted. He saw us together; he thinks you'd rather date me than him. I guess we don't have a reason to be here anymore."

Simon stood up to leave, but Brittany did something that surprised even herself. She grabbed Simon's arm and blurted, "Wait!"

Simon paused and looked at her curiously.

"We don't have to go yet," Brittany said, releasing his arm. She forced herself to calm down. "I mean, I'm not ready to go yet. I'm having a good time."

Simon's blue-grey eyes widened. "You are?"

Brittany smiled and nodded. "I am. Seriously."

Simon eased himself back into his chair. "You aren't just saying this because you feel guilty."

"No," Brittany said, truly meaning it. "I'm having fun. No offense, but I didn't realize how funny you are. You know, in a sarcastic, I-hate-the-world sort of way."

"Oh," Simon said. "Well, thanks, I guess."

He and Brittany continued their conversation. They talked about the movie a little more, but also about other things, like music and TV. They didn't always agree on everything, but they didn't argue to the point of anger, like Alvin and Brittany always used to do. They were able to have civil debates, and even laugh a few times. Brittany had never been able to have these types of conversation with people.

They ended up buying desert and talking even longer. In the middle of talking about corny music videos from the 1980s, Simon glanced at his watch and said, "Wow. We've been talking for three hours."

Brittany's blue eyes widened. "What? No way."

Simon held up his wrist to show Brittany the digital numbers. It was almost midnight.

Brittany looked around and noticed that people working behind counters in the food court were shutting their restaurants down. A tired-looking janitor mopped the floor nearby.

"I didn't even know the mall was open this long," Brittany said.

"Neither did I," Simon admitted. He grabbed his coat that was hanging from the back of his chair. "I suppose we should be getting home."

"Yeah," Brittany said. She surprisingly felt very reluctant to leave. She was actually having _fun... _talking to _Simon_ of all people. Who would have seen that coming?

Brittany and Simon carried on the conversation in the car, and talked the whole way home. Brittany couldn't believe she had absolutely nothing to talk to Simon a week ago, and suddenly they were chatting like they had been friends forever. She just couldn't understand it.

Simon pulled into the Seville's driveway and the two got out.

"I can walk you over to your house if you want," Simon offered.

"That's okay," Brittany said. She smiled. "How about I walk _you_ to _your _porch?"

"That really isn't necessary," Simon said, sounding a little puzzled.

"Oh, but I insist!" Brittany said teasingly. She climbed the stairs to the porch and Simon followed her. She turned toward Simon, so her back was to the door.

"Thanks for a great night, Simon," Brittany said. "I had a good time."

"You did?" For a second, Simon looked grateful. He quickly added, "I mean, I'm glad you did," in a calmer voice.

Brittany grinned and Simon smiled back. Usually this would be the part of the date when the girl kissed the boy; but since this wasn't a real date, Brittany wasn't expecting anything more than a friendly "Good night."

Needless to say, Brittany was more than surprised when Simon bent down slightly and gave her a quick, feather-light kiss on the cheek.

"Simon!" Brittany gasped. Her face flushed. "What was _that?"_

Simon stood up straighter and nodded toward the window behind Brittany.

"Alvin was looking at us through the living room window," he said as his face turned slightly pink. "I figured I had to do something."

"Oh," Brittany said, feeling relief. That made Simon's action acceptable; he had a good reason. "Good thinking. Thanks."

Simon nodded and said, "You're welcome."

"So," Brittany said after a few beats of silence. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Right," Simon said, putting his hands in his pocket. Brittany started to walk away, but Simon said, "Hey Brittany."

Brittany turned around and said, "Yes?"

Simon smiled at her. He no longer looked uncomfortable about the awkward moment they had just endured. Instead, he looked very satisfied. "I'm glad you had a good time tonight."

Brittany grinned and nodded. "Me too."

Simon gave her a shy wave good-bye and quietly slipped inside his house. Brittany watched as Simon turned the living room light on. She noticed that no one was else was in the living room, despite that Simon had claimed Alvin had been watching them on the porch.

Brittany took a few steps back and looked up at the upper level of the house. She saw the light was on in one of the front windows. She looked a little closer and saw Alvin sitting at the computer desk, typing away at his laptop, his back facing the window. He was singing along to the iPod that he was listening to through headphones. It was a little hard to see, but it was definitely Alvin. And he wasn't paying any attention to anything else but his music and computer.

A chilly wind swept past Brittany, making her hug herself for warmth. She realized that Simon had probably lied to her about Alvin spying on them. He didn't kiss her because he wanted Alvin to be jealous of him; Simon wasn't the type of guy to pull that stunt, even if it meant helping Brittany out. Brittany seriously doubted that Simon would let himself be "used" for something like that again.

So that meant that Simon had kissed her simply because he wanted to kiss her.

_No!_ Brittany thought. There was no way. He was probably just caught up in the moment. Or maybe he was just desperate; Simon probably had trouble finding dates at the library, so he took whatever he could get.

But what if Simon just wanted to kiss her? What if he… _liked_ Brittany?

Brittany expected her stomach to churn at this thought, but it didn't. In fact, she didn't think the idea of Simon liking her was so terrible. It wasn't a _good _thing, by all means, but it could be worse.

_So maybe he has a little crush,_ Brittany thought as she crossed the street. _Big deal._ Brittany actually felt a little flattered; as long as this didn't go any farther than what had just happened.

And it wouldn't. Because as much fun as Brittany had on her "date" with Simon, they both knew that it wasn't a real date to begin with. It was just a dumb little ploy to ruffle Alvin's feathers.

Brittany opened the front door to her house feeling a little sad that the night had come to an end. She really enjoyed tonight; it was the best time she'd had in months. She wanted to do it again.

_No,_ Brittany scolded herself. _This was just a one-and-done deal, and you know it. Things will get complicated if you try to turn it into anything more than that._

Brittany tip-toed into the house, grateful that everyone else was in bed. She knew she would have to come up with some kind of explanation to her sisters tomorrow… well, to Jeanette at least. She still wasn't on speaking terms with her other sister.

Her gaze shifted toward the kitchen and she spotted the yellow rose in the vase. She was drawn toward the lovely flower, and couldn't help but walk over to it. It was so thoughtful, one of the most thoughtful gifts she had gotten in recent memory.

"Maybe I would go out with him again," Brittany whispered, lightly touching the bright petals. The color reminded her of Simon's meaning behind the flower. "Just as friends, of course."

She couldn't help but smile as she quietly made her way upstairs to her bedroom.

…

The next morning, Brittany walked into the kitchen hoping none of her sisters were present. She sighed when she saw Jeanette sitting at the table, sipping orange juice and reading the morning paper.

Brittany quietly made herself a bowl of cereal and sat at the table. Jeanette looked up from the paper and gave her sister a curious look. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of the right way to bring it up. Unfortunately, Brittany knew exactly what Jeanette was about to ask.

"So what's going on with you and Simon?" Jeanette finally asked, right before taking a sip of juice.

Brittany took a deep breath before saying, "I know all about Alvin and Eleanor."

Jeanette's eyes widened and she began to choke on her orange juice. As Brittany patiently waited for Jeanette to stop coughing, she felt a slight sense of relief. She was eager to discuss this with someone; and she knew that, unlike Simon, Jeanette would probably have more details on this.

Although the more she thought about it, she wondered if she even wanted details. After all, she was trying to get over Alvin, and wouldn't finding out more information about his fling with her sister just make it more difficult?

Yet the curiosity was killing her. She wasn't sure she could let it go.

Of course maybe she wasn't trying hard enough to let it go. She had been constantly thinking about it, not to mention how she practically interrogated Simon about it earlier that week.

Suddenly Jeanette's coughing came to a stop. She looked at Brittany with watery eyes and weakly said, "Y-you know?"

"Yes," Brittany said confidently. She was not ready to discuss the Simon date with anyone yet, so she had to come up with a way to change the subject. "I know."

"But how did you…" Jeanette stumbled for the right words. "I mean, what did… who… who told you?"

Brittany took a bite of cereal. "Tessa Chandler."

Jeanette frowned. "Tessa Chandler? How could she have known?"

"I think the better question is why didn't _I_ know?" Brittany said, narrowing her eyes at her sister. "Why didn't anyone tell _me?_"

"We thought you'd be upset," Jeanette answered automatically.

"The fact that you didn't tell me makes me _more_ upset," Brittany said.

Jeanette stared at her lap. She obviously felt bad about this mess.

"Have you talked to Eleanor yet?" Jeanette asked, still not looking at Brittany.

"No," Brittany replied. "She doesn't know that I know. Don't say anything to her, okay? This is between me and her, and I'll talk to her about it when I'm ready."

Jeanette nodded. "I'm sorry, Brittany," she said softly. "I guess I just thought it would be best for you if you didn't find out. You had already been through a lot with Alvin, and I didn't want to hurt you even more."

"What hurts me is that you didn't tell me," Brittany pointed out. She looked at Jeanette carefully, not sure if she wanted to ask this next question. But she had to know. "She still likes him, doesn't she?"

Jeanette bit her lower lip.

"Jeanette," Brittany said in a warning tone. "Tell me the truth."

Jeanette swallowed hard and slowly nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I think she does."

Brittany leaned back in her chair, processing the information she just heard. So it was official: Eleanor still liked Alvin, despite everything he had done to Brittany, her own sister. And her sisters had lied to her about.

For a second, she wondered if Alvin still liked Eleanor. Brittany quickly shook that thought out of her mind. She had to remember that she didn't care what Alvin did anymore.

"Okay," Brittany said, simply. "Thanks for finally being honest with me." She went back to eating her cereal.

A few minutes went by, and the only sounds in the kitchen were Brittany crunching her cereal and the rustling of the newspaper Jeanette was flipping through.

Finally Jeanette spoke up: "So are you going to tell me about Simon?"

Brittany rolled her eyes. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Brittany," Jeanette said. "He got you flowers and took you to a movie. It sure seemed like a date to me."

"Nope," Brittany insisted. "Just a friendly get-together. You and I used to go to the movies together all the time. Did that mean we were on a date?"

"No," Jeanette said. "But I'm not a guy."

Brittany sighed. "Look, we're just friends, okay? We just hung out together. I'm not interested in Simon, if that's what you're thinking."

"Is he interested in you?" Jeanette asked.

Brittany instantly thought of the night before when Simon had kissed her. At first she thought he just did it because Alvin was watching, but she realized that Alvin hadn't been paying attention to them. Simon had kissed her, and he did it simply because he wanted to. Or maybe he was just caught up in the moment. Brittany chose to believe that latter.

"He doesn't like me," Brittany said. "At least not in _that _way. Believe it or not, Jeanette, but it _is_ possible for a girl and a boy to be just friends."

"Okay," Jeanette said, still looking unconvinced. "Forget that I brought it up."

"Already forgotten," Brittany said, standing up to put her bowl in the sink.

And that was the last time either of them brought up it up. Well, at least for the time being.

A few days passed, and while Alvin had tried calling Brittany a few times, she proudly ignored him. She knew he just wanted to pester her about Simon, and she wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction.

On Wednesday, December 22, Brittany was e-mailing her friends at UCLA when her cell phone rang. At first she thought it was Alvin, and considered not even checking the caller ID to confirm it. But she looked at her phone and saw Simon's name flash on the screen. Her heart did a little flip in her chest.

_What was that all about?_ She wondered as she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello Brittany," Simon said.

Brittany grinned and leaned back in her desk chair. "Hey Simon. What's up?"

"Nothing much," Simon said. He sounded nervous. "How are you?"

"Fine," Brittany said, trying not to giggle at his obvious stalling.

"Good," Simon said.

A few seconds of silence went by. Finally Brittany asked, "So why did you call?"

"Oh," Simon said. She heard him clear his throat. "Uh, no reason. Well, actually there is a reason. I was wondering… well… I was _hoping_ that perhaps we could hang out again."

"Like on a date?" Brittany asked.

"Sure," Simon said. "I mean, if you want to call it that. We just had such a good time last weekend; I thought it would be fun to do it again."

Brittany couldn't believe her ears. "Is Alvin putting you up to this?"

"No," Simon said firmly. "Alvin has nothing to do with this."

Brittany stared straight ahead at her computer screen. So maybe Simon _did _like her. This was not part of the plan… not that she really had a "plan" to begin with. But she hadn't been expecting _this._

She tried telling herself that he just thought of her as a friend, but she knew he wouldn't have sounded so nervous if he was simply asking her to hang out. Simon wanted to go on a date with Brittany, and Alvin wasn't pressuring him into doing it; Simon actually wanted to go out with her.

"If you don't want to, I understand," Simon said after Brittany didn't give an answer. "I just thought I'd ask. I mean, we had fun and…"

"I'll go," Brittany interrupted.

"You will?" Simon sounded just as confused as she felt.

"Yeah," Brittany decided. After all, it wasn't like she had any plans in the next few days… besides Christmas. "I mean, we had fun, so why not do it again?"

"Of course," Simon agreed. "I was thinking we could do something tomorrow night."

"Sounds good to me," Brittany said. "Around seven?"

"Perfect," Simon said. "I'll see you then, Brittany."

"Okay," Brittany replied. "Bye, Simon."

"Good bye," Simon said. Brittany smiled when he said "good bye." Nobody talked like that anymore. It was just another Simon quirk that she was amused by.

Brittany hung up the phone and realized that she had just scheduled a date with Simon Seville. Simon freakin' Seville. And surprisingly, she wasn't even upset about it. In fact, she was looking forward to it; and she didn't feel ashamed of looking forward to it.

She briefly wondered what exactly that meant. Did she have feelings for Simon? Did this mean she didn't care about Alvin anymore? Many thoughts went through her mind, but Brittany dismissed them. This was the happiest she had felt since she came home; and she wasn't about to let that feeling get lost in a tangle of unnecessary theories.

Things were finally going well, and she wasn't going to let anything get in the way.

…

Later that night, Brittany fell asleep almost instantly. She wasn't sure when the last time she dozed off so quickly had been. She had been getting used to endless nights of tossing and turning, wondering what tomorrow would bring and thinking of Alvin.

But not that night. Brittany snuggled under the covers, closed her eyes, and that was that.

Unfortunately, her slumber wouldn't last long. She was awakened from her dreamless sleep when she felt extra weight on her bed. The springs in her mattress squeaked and Brittany's eyes popped open. She saw a dark, shadowy figure climbing on to the bed. As the person straddled her, Brittany broke into a cold sweat and laid paralyzed in fear.

_Oh my God,_ she thought. Her heart pounded hard and fast. _There's someone in my bed! He's going to kill me! Oh my God!_

Brittany felt dizzy with fright, but she knew what she had to do if she even wanted a chance at surviving.

She opened her mouth to scream, but it was instantly covered by a cold hand.

"Shhh!" The intruder reached toward her nightstand and turned on her lamp. "It's just me."

Brittany's whole body instantly relaxed when the light revealed who was there.

It was Alvin.

Brittany laid quietly for a few seconds, letting her heart beat return to normal. Then she grabbed Alvin's wrist as hard as she could and jerked his hand away from her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, sitting up. She glanced at the digital clock and noted that it was almost three o'clock in the morning.

"It was the only way I could think of to get your attention," Alvin said with a shrug, as if he hadn't just given Brittany the scare of her life.

"Yeah, this makes me_ really_ want to talk to you, Alvin," Brittany said. Alvin's wandering eyes reminded her that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath her thin, silk top. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "Just get out of here."

"Not until you talk to me," Alvin said.

"I'll call the police," Brittany threatened, her determined look matching Alvin's.

Alvin smirked. "Oh come on, Brittany. We both know you wouldn't do that."

"Just watch me," Brittany said, narrowing her eyes.

Alvin just shook his head. His stupid, smug smile never left his face. Brittany didn't know it was possible to go from extremely scared to extremely angry in less than one minute, but she was experiencing the dramatic mood shift.

"How did you get in here anyway?" she asked, wiping her damp forehead with the back of her hand.

Alvin gave her that boyish, mischievous look that she used to find irresistible. "It wasn't that long ago when I was sneaking in here every summer night. Remember?"

Brittany looked away and couldn't help but blush. She immediately thought of the last time she and Alvin had been in her bedroom alone; they definitely hadn't been arguing.

"I just want you to forgive me, Brittany," Alvin said. "I miss you."

Brittany scoffed. "Really? You missed me? I heard that you've been getting along quite well."

"What do you mean?" Alvin asked.

"What I mean is that it seems you've had plenty of girls to sample after we broke up," Brittany said. "So I don't know why you suddenly miss me so much."

"Those girls didn't mean anything," Alvin said. "Not compared to you."

"Oh yeah?" Brittany sat up straighter. "So _Eleanor _didn't mean anything either?"

Alvin blinked in surprise. His lips parted and he stared at his ex-girlfriend.

"Don't even try to deny it," Brittany warned. "I know it's true."

"Who told you?" Alvin asked, sounding more curious than upset.

"That doesn't matter," Brittany said. "I just can't believe you went for my own sister after everything that's happened."

"She was just a fling," Alvin insisted. "I mean, I liked her, but we were the only ones who weren't away for school and it just sort of… _happened_. Besides, we haven't hooked up in months. Eleanor is cool, but I never felt the same way about her as I do about you."

"She's _lucky_ you didn't feel the same way about her as you felt about me," Brittany said quietly. "I bet that means you didn't cheat on her."

"We were never in a relationship, Brittany," Alvin pointed out. "We never dated. We were just…"

"Friends with benefits," Brittany finished.

"Well, yeah," Alvin said, his shoulders slumping a little.

"Eleanor doesn't see it that way," Brittany told him. "It's obvious she still likes you."

Alvin raised his eyebrows. "Did she tell you that?"

"No," Brittany admitted. "But I can tell."

Alvin sighed. "Well there's nothing I can do about that." He looked at Brittany, his blue eyes bright in the dimly lit room. "I'm still in love with you."

Brittany's heart fluttered. He loved her; well, he _said_ that he loved her. Brittany hadn't heard those words in a long time. After all this time, the one person she secretly hoped to hear it from had said it.

"Are you still in love with me?" Alvin asked in a low voice. His piercing blue eyes and expectant look made her mind go hazy. "Don't lie."

"I… I don't know," Brittany said softly. She wanted to regret those words, but she didn't. It felt so good to be honest for a change; she really _didn't _know if she still loved Alvin. She wanted so badly to say no, but it was as if Alvin had put her under a spell. She couldn't lie to him.

"I think you are," Alvin said. Brittany noticed that his face had suddenly gotten closer to hers.

"Maybe," Brittany said breathlessly. Strong, confident Brittany had completely disappeared. She desperately tried to get some control back, but she couldn't. The fact that Alvin was sweet-talking her in her bedroom in the middle of the night had made her go weak. Deep down, this is what she had wanted for months. She pretended to hate him, and tried so hard to convince herself to get over him. However, as much as she didn't want to admit it, this is what she wanted: for Alvin and her to have a moment when everything would be resolved and they would reunite.

"Don't fight it," she heard Alvin say, the exact same thing he had said in her dream a few weeks earlier.

Brittany stared at him, and they both knew that he had her exactly where he wanted her. He suddenly had all the power, just the way he liked it. This had probably been his plan all along.

"Let me kiss you," Alvin whispered.

And she did. Alvin's lips crashed against hers, and she wasted no time kissing him back. The kiss started furiously, but got even more heated after a few minutes. Brittany's fingers tangled in Alvin's hair as she kissed him as hard as she could. She knew it was wrong, but somehow everything felt so _right._

Brittany hadn't had any alcohol, but she felt drunk. Her whole body had been taken over by lust and desire. Every action was done before her mind could make a reasonable decision, and before she knew it, she was yanking Alvin's shirt up over his head.

She knew she would hate herself in the morning, but she didn't care. She knew she was throwing away everything she had tried so hard to accomplish, but she didn't care. All Brittany could think about was how much she wanted Alvin at that very moment.

And to her delight and dismay, Alvin was exactly what she got.

* * *

A/N: Uh oh! Where did that come from? Brittany sure is fickle about those Seville boys (and I know that scene was starting to go into "lemon" territory, but I wanted to keep my T rating. Sorry!). Okay, to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure where the story is going after this. I have a few scenes in mind, but let's just say the next chapter may be a little delayed. Like I've said before, I'm totally open to anyone's ideas, so suggestions are always welcome. Plus I love hearing from you guys because, well, you're the people reading this! Hope ya liked it!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I wanted to get this out now, because I don't know when I'll be able to publish another story. Things are about to get really busy for me! But I won't forget about my stories, I promise. I may not always be actually writing, but they're constantly on my mind and I'm always thinking of ideas. So please be patient and I will publish the next chapter of this (and my other story in progress) as soon as I can.

* * *

Brittany felt numb when she woke up. She was aware of everything that had happened early that morning but she couldn't process any thoughts or feelings. All she could do was lay there and stare at the light pink walls covered in posters and heart-shaped stickers.

The feelings came first. Brittany felt ashamed and dirty. She also felt a tiny sense of satisfaction, and she wasn't sure why. This just made her confused, which triggered frustration. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with all these emotions first thing in the morning, but she had brought this upon herself. She knew this would happen the moment she kissed Alvin; she knew the consequences, but she didn't care at the time.

Brittany wondered if Alvin was still in bed. She lay perfectly still, but heard no noise. Alvin had always been a pretty heavy sleeper; maybe he _was_ there. What would she do if he was there? Did she _want_ him there?

Brittany held her breath as she rolled over. Alvin was gone; Brittany was alone. An odd mix of relief and disappointment ran through her. She was glad she didn't have to deal with him at the moment, but she felt so alone.

The sleepy teenager noticed a folded pink piece of paper sitting atop her pillow. She recognized it from her stationary set she kept on her desk. Brittany's heart sped up when she read the sloppy handwriting: _Brittany,_ it read, _thanks for the "talk." Call me later. –Alvin _

Not sure how to feel about the note, Brittany tossed it back on the pillow and lay back down on the bed. He expected her to _call_ him? Yeah right, like that was going to happen.

At least not today.

The first thing Brittany did was straight to the bathroom for a long, hot shower. She turned the water temperature as hot as it would go, closed her eyes, and breathed in the steam, letting the scorching water rinse away her guilt and shame.

Despite over thirty minutes of scrubbing and washing, she still felt dirty. She couldn't believe she just gave herself up to Alvin like that, after all that time and effort she spent trying to avoid him and prove to herself that he wasn't good enough for her. All she had to do was last a few more weeks and she'd be back at UCLA, miles away from him. But once again, she let lust get in the way. Why was kissing such a weakness to her? Were other girls like this? Did this make her a slut? Did she have some sort problem?

Brittany dressed down to match her mood: white cashmere sweat pants and a fitted Juicy Couture hoodie (more gifts she got in Europe). As much as she wanted to sit in her room and feel sorry for herself, Brittany knew she had to pretend that nothing was wrong. She couldn't let her sisters find out about what had happened between her and Alvin.

Although eating was the last thing Brittany wanted to do, she made her way down the hall to get to the stairs. She nearly ran right into Miss Miller, which was odd considering that Brittany hadn't seen Miss Miller go upstairs the whole time she had been home.

"Well good morning Darling!" Miss Miller exclaimed in her southern drawl.

"Good morning," Brittany replied with a forced smile.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Miss Miller said. Surprisingly, she seemed fairly calm, like she actually knew what she was talking about. "Last night I got up to go to the bathroom and I heard some strange sounds coming from your bedroom."

Brittany froze. "Strange sounds?"

Miss Miller nodded. "Yes, almost as if you were moaning. You made an odd screaming noise too."

Brittany felt her face flush. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with Miss Miller. Of all the things for the old women to remember…

"I was having a nightmare," Brittany explained, hoping Miss Miller wouldn't notice her uneasiness.

Miss Miller raised her eyebrows and looked concerned. "Oh, you did? Why Brittany, that's terrible!"

Miss Miller pulled Brittany in for a tight hug. She squeezed her adopted daughter until Brittany let out a small squeak from the pain.

"I'm fine," Brittany said in a strained voice as her bones were being crushed. "Really."

Miss Miller eased her grip and grinned at Brittany. "You know, I almost came up and checked on you. But these old knees just don't get up and down the stairs like they used to!"

"You're upstairs now," Brittany pointed out.

Miss Miller looked around and blinked. "Oh," she muttered. "I guess I am." Brittany helped her guardian carefully go down the steep steps, happy that the awkward conversation was over.

_But if Miss Miller could hear me,_ Brittany wondered, _does that mean Eleanor and Jeanette could've heard?_

Brittany doubted it. Eleanor was a very deep sleeper and Jeanette often slept with ear plugs. Well, she used to. Brittany didn't know if she still did.

Sunshine poured through the living room windows, catching the tinsel and garland from the large Christmas tree. At first Brittany appreciated the pretty sight, but she quickly felt a knot form in her stomach. Seeing the tree reminded her of who she bought the tree with and who she was supposed to go out with tonight.

Simon.

Brittany leaned against the wall and miserably ran her hands through her damp hair. How could she have forgotten about Simon? The guy she was going on a date with in a few hours. The guy whose brother she had just hooked up with. The guy who quite possibly had a crush on her.

The guy who she kinda-sorta-maybe beginning to have feelings for.

Brittany knew it was absurd, but she really had been starting to feel a slight attraction to Simon. All these years she just thought he was a nerd who took things too seriously and spent his free time doing science experiments in his dirty basement. But after getting to know him, she realized he was so much more than that. She had learned to appreciate his dry sense of humor and, surprisingly, she liked that he was so smart. Brittany liked hearing him talk about things she had never really thought about;  
Simon was by far the smartest person she knew, and she enjoyed hearing his opinions and explanations.

Despite what she had thought before, there was nothing wrong with Simon Seville. He was more mature and realistic than most guys his age, but he wasn't a total loser like she'd once thought. He was funny, smart, and kind. Not to mention, he was quite good-looking; he had those beautiful blue-grey eyes that captivated Brittany. Alvin might have been known as the heartthrob of the Seville family, but there was no denying that Simon was very handsome in his own way.

Simon was much different from any other guy that Brittany had ever found appealing; and this excited Brittany. She knew she wasn't head-over-heels for the guy, but there was _something _between them. However, there was no way Brittany could go out with him tonight, not after everything that had happened. She needed more time to think about this.

Brittany heard her cell phone ring from her bedroom. She hurried to her room and picked it up right before it went to voice mail.

"Hello?" Brittany said. She hadn't checked the caller ID. She hoped it wasn't Alvin; dealing with him at the moment was not an option.

"It's Simon," the caller said.

Brittany relaxed a little. "Oh, hi Simon. I was actually just about to call you…"

"I called to cancel our date tonight." Simon cut her off.

Brittany's heart sank. Just by the way Simon had just sounded; she knew that he knew about Alvin.

"Why?" Brittany asked, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

"For the past two hours, I've had to listen to Alvin boast about you two's little sleepover last night," Simon said. He sounded angry and annoyed, which made Brittany feel worse. "I figured a date with my brother's girlfriend would be out of the question."

"Whoa!" Brittany said, suddenly feeling very alert. "Hold on. We are _not _back together."

"Then why did you sleep with him?" Simon asked, seemingly void of emotion. "For fun?"

Brittany sighed. "Look, Simon, I…"

"There's no need to explain, Brittany," Simon interrupted. "I get it, I really do. I was just some pawn in your scheme to get Alvin back. Well, now that you have him, I'm not needed anymore. We can go back to ignoring each other."

"I don't want to ignore you, Simon." Brittany's voice was starting to crack due to the huge lump forming in her throat.

"You already _have_ ignored me, Brittany," Simon said. He sounded firm, but Brittany could hear the hurt in his voice.

Brittany gripped the phone tighter. What exactly did he mean by that?

"Simon," Brittany pleaded. "Please, just let me…"

Her words trailed off when she realized the line had gone dead.

"I led him on," Brittany said quietly. She slowly started to understand why Simon had said she ignored him; she had completely ignored his feelings this whole time. She didn't even give him a second thought when she was in bed with his brother; when Alvin was kissing her, she pretty much ignored the fact that Simon existed.

Obviously she and Simon weren't an official couple or anything, but there was no denying that they both thought there was potential to be more than friends. Brittany hadn't been taking the thought _too_ seriously, but it was in the back of her mind; but she had thrown that possibility away. Now neither of them would know.

Brittany wandered downstairs in the living room. Miss Miller and Jeanette were quietly watching television, and Brittany joined them. On the TV, a girl about Brittany's age was talking about her younger brother being diagnosed with cancer last year.

This made Brittany feel even more pathetic. There were people in the world dealing with horrible things like cancer, and she was crying over boys.

The doorbell rang, and Brittany silently volunteered to see who it was. The girl on TV was now sobbing, and Brittany didn't think she could take anymore.

Brittany opened the door. Her knees weakened when she saw who was leaning against the doorframe.

"Alvin," she gasped.

"The one and only," Alvin said, his smirk making her feel powerless.

Brittany glanced at the couch Jeanette was sitting on. Her sister was craning her neck toward to door, trying to get a better look at who Brittany was talking to. Brittany, who thankfully was wearing her slippers, stepped on the porch and closed the door.

"What are you doing here?" Brittany hugged herself for warmth as the cold hit her sweater-clad body.

"Just wanted to say hello," Alvin said. "You got my note, right?"

Brittany nodded. A cold wind blew her hair around her shoulders.

"I can't stop thinking about you," Alvin said gently. He leaned closer to her.

Brittany couldn't stop thinking about Alvin either, but she doubted that she thought of him as positively as he thought about her.

"So," Alvin said slowly. He looked at her expectantly. "Does this mean we're back together?"

Brittany's eyes widened. "Why would you think that?"

Alvin looked at her as if she was crazy. "Why _wouldn't_ I think that after what happened last night?"

Despite the bitterly cold temperature, Brittany's face felt hot. She couldn't believe this; Alvin actually thought hooking up would solve all their problems. She felt so overwhelmed, but she decided that she needed to be firm and stand her ground on this.

"Alvin," Brittany said in a sharp tone. "Just because… _stuff_ happened last night doesn't mean we're together. It was just a lapse of judgment on my part. It didn't mean anything serious."

Alvin stared at her with an unreadable expression. Brittany looked back at him, trying to look confident so he wouldn't ask questions.

"So it was just a one night stand?" Alvin finally asked.

"Yeah," Brittany reluctantly admitted. "I guess it was."

Alvin shook his head and smiled. "No way," he muttered.

Brittany sighed. "Sorry Alvin, but…"

"You mean to tell me that last night didn't mean anything to you?" Alvin asked. His piercing blue eyes seemed to go right through her.

The question caught Brittany off-guard. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She quickly reminded herself that _she_ was the one in charge here.

"I don't know why you're taking this so hard," Brittany spat. "You have one night stands all the time and you seem to move on just fine. One night stands are what you _live_ for, Alvin. No commitment, no feelings, no strings attached, just action. This shouldn't be a big deal for you."

Alvin took a deep breath and exhaled sharply through his nose. "It's a big deal because I don't think of you as a one night stand. Maybe I should, but I can't. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was great what happened between us last night in your room. But I…" he paused, as if to consider his next words. "I want _more,_ Brittany."

Brittany couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had never seen Alvin so vulnerable. This was the guy who got suspended for putting super glue on toilet seats. This was the guy who was voted Biggest Flirt in high school despite the fact that everyone knew he and Brittany were dating. Why was he suddenly being so serious and honest? It was making her uncomfortable, even though he was seemingly saying all the right things.

"Look," Brittany said slowly. "Call me a tease; say I led you on, whatever. But I don't want to get back together. We can't. Not after what you did to me last…"

"Damn it Brittany!" Alvin hit the side of the house, making her jump. "Why do you keep bringing that up? I'm _sorry_, okay? I've apologized a thousand times, and I don't know what else you want me to do! It was wrong, and I'm sorry you got hurt, but it's _over_. It happened a year ago, and things have changed! _I've_ changed!"

Tears stung Brittany's eyes. She didn't know how to respond; and she hated to admit it, but maybe he was right. Maybe it was time to let last year go.

But she couldn't. At least not right now. She knew she needed to let it go, but the hurt and sadness was still there.

Brittany swallowed and shook her head. "I can't."

Alvin's shoulders slumped. "So that's it then?"

"I don't know!" Brittany cried. "I don't know, Alvin! I'm confused!"

"There's nothing to be confused about," Alvin told her. "Do you still have feelings for me?"

"Yes," Brittany admitted, looking at the snow-covered ground. There was no point in lying anymore.

"So tell me you'll be my girlfriend," Alvin said, as if it was the easiest decision in the world.

"It's not that simple," Brittany muttered.

"Why not?" Alvin asked, losing patience.

Brittany didn't answer. It wasn't like she could tell Alvin that she was starting to like his brother. That wouldn't have gone over well.

Alvin sighed. "Okay, Brittany. I need to know right now." He took her numb hands into his gloved ones and looked her in the eye. "Tell me right now: Are we going to get back together?"

Brittany's heart hammered in her chest. "I… I don't know. I need time to think."

"It's a yes or no question," Alvin said, his eyes never leaving hers. He was a pro at intense staring. The boy could win a staring contest with a statue. "Either you want to get back together or you don't."

"Right now it's a no," Brittany finally said. "Like I said, I need time to…"

Alvin dropped her hands. "I can't wait on you forever, Brittany." He sounded hurt and frustrated.

"If you truly loved me you would," Brittany said without thinking.

"I'm not going to spend time on someone who doesn't love me back," Alvin came back just as quickly. Brittany knew this was true too. Alvin wouldn't pull this desperate routine for long. After a while, he would settle for someone who actually liked him back.

"I think you should leave." Brittany knew she'd break into tears in a matter of seconds, and she didn't want Alvin around for that.

"Yeah," Alvin said. Only he didn't budge. Instead, he stood still and looked at Brittany for a few long seconds. Then leaned in and kissed her lips. Brittany automatically kissed him back.

When Alvin pulled away, Brittany found herself disappointed that the kiss was over.

"I just wanted to do that one last time," Alvin explained, sounded a little hoarse.

Brittany could only nod. Her lips tingled and her mind felt fuzzy.

"See you on Christmas." Alvin turned toward his house. He slowly walked away, probably doing it on purpose to give Brittany time to call his name and confess that she loved him.

But Brittany was speechless. She lightly touched her bruised lips with her fingers. Her mind whirled, trying to process everything that had just happened.

This was by far the most bizarre, dramatic day she'd ever had in her life.

Well, besides Christmas Eve last year.

Brittany couldn't take it anymore. She quickly stepped inside and ran up the stairs. She ignored Jeanette when she asked her what was wrong.

Finally, Brittany reached her room, slammed the door shut, and flopped onto her annoyingly fluffy bed. She buried her face in the pillow and sobbed, letting out all the sadness and confusion she'd been holding in for so long.

Simon, the only person she had managed to trust since she had came home, hated her and thought she was a slut. She had slept with her sleazy ex-boyfriend, and was for some reason still in love with him. Her sisters were dishonest and distant, and one of them hooked up with Alvin, who had cheated on Brittany. And the woman who raised her was losing what little mind she had left.

Brittany's heart was broken; she totally understood the expression now. Her chest literally _hurt _from all the horrible emotions she was feeling. She just wanted this visit to be over; she wanted to back to college, where things were going well for her. She hated being home; and she hated the fact that she hated being home.

The Chipette cried until she had no more tears and energy to carry on. Feeling exhausted, Brittany fell into a deep, deep sleep.

* * *

Review, amigos! Please?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi everyone! I know this chapter isn't very long, but it gets to the point I guess. This story is almost over… after this, there will be only one more chapter left (well, maybe two, but probably just one). Enjoy!**

* * *

_Merry Christmas, I wrapped it up and sent it_

_With a note saying I love you_

_I meant it_

* * *

_When Brittany woke up, she knew something wasn't quite right. She sat up in bed and her eyes rested on a very bizarre sight. Sitting on the edge of her bed was herself; well, two versions of herself actually. The Brittany sitting on the left side of the bed had her dirty blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a hot pink tank top and tight jeans. The Brittany to the right looked more like Brittany did today; her long caramel-colored hair cascaded down her back. She was wearing a black turtleneck and charcoal knee length skirt. She looked about five years older than the other Brittany. _

_As strange as this was, Brittany felt eerily calm, almost as if she expected this. Although she felt no worries, she was still incredibly confused. _

_"What's going on?" Brittany asked._

_"We're here to straighten you out," the younger Brittany said. Brittany could smell the bubble gum on her breath._

_"Straighten me out?" Brittany asked. "What do you mean?" She kept looking at one Brittany to the other. One looked pretty and determined, the other beautiful and sophisticated. Both of them represented her; the new Brittany looked so appealing, but she couldn't help but long to feel like the old Brittany again._

_New Brittany sat up straighter. "You're obviously confused about your situation... and you're torn between the two of us." She nodded to the pink-clad Brittany. _

_"Well I'll tell you what I think," Old Brittany said loudly. "I think you need to just surrender and go back to Alvin. I mean, come on, you guys are such a cute couple!"_

_"There's more to a relationship than looking cute together," New Brittany pointed out. "Maybe you should give Simon a chance…"_

_"NO!" New Brittany interrupted, looking horrified. "Come on, Brittany, this is _Simon_ we're talking about. He is so not your type. You need someone like Alvin; someone cool, someone exciting…"_

_"Someone who is a complete jerk," New Brittany muttered. _

_"He said he was sorry!" New Brittany said, throwing her hands up in the air. _

_New Brittany turned toward Current Brittany, her blue eyes looking serious through her smoky eye shadow. "How can you be so sure he means it?"_

_"I'm not," Brittany finally spoke up. "But he seems sincere."_

_"That's because he _is!_" the younger Brittany squealed. "He's older, more mature. He knows what he did was wrong, and he loves you."_

_New Brittany rolled her eyes. "He's an actor. He's bored and just wants to fool around during winter break. This is Alvin Seville we're talking about, the biggest player in California!"_

_Younger Brittany shook her head, her ponytail hitting her in the face. "No," she said simply. _

_"How can you be so sure?" Brittany heard herself ask. _

_She watched as the younger version of herself shrugged. "I don't know. I just do."_

_"That's because he's all you know," New Brittany said. "It's time to let Alvin go. Give Simon a chance, or find someone new."_

_"Not Simon," Old Brittany said, grimacing. "I mean, really? He's a total geek."_

_Brittany felt herself shake her head. "He's more than that. Simon is really nice and smart and I like being with him. I feel bad that he was hurt by all this."_

_Old Brittany looked at her in disbelief. "Why? It's not like you two were actually going out or anything. You shouldn't feel bad."_

_Brittany leaned back, feeling more confused than ever._

_"Don't worry," New Brittany said. "You're mature. You'll make the right decision."_

_"You'd _better _make the right decision." Old Brittany crossed her arms across her chest and glared. Her face was serious and a bit intimidating. "I don't date nerds."_

_..._

Brittany's eyes snapped open. She immediately looked at the foot of her bed.

There was nothing there. No Brittanys.

Brittany looked at her alarm clock and gasped when she saw the time. It was almost one o'clock in the afternoon. She wondered how long she'd been having that crazy dream.

She stumbled out of bed and was hit with realization that today was Christmas Eve. The anniversary of the worst day of her life, thanks to Alvin Seville.

Rubbing her tired eyes, Brittany opened her bedroom door. She jumped when she almost ran right into Jeanette.

"Sorry!" Jeanette said. "I was just coming up to make sure you were alright. You've been asleep for a long time." Brittany walked past her sister. "Are you feeling okay, Brittany?"

"M'fine," Brittany muttered, heading straight for the bathroom. Without thinking, she shut the door and turned on the shower. Brittany stripped off her clothes and practically jumped into the tub, letting the hot water sting her body. She wished she could stay in that little space all day.

She did, however, manage to keep to herself most of the day. She spent most of Christmas Eve in her room, claiming to be trying on outfits for tomorrow. In reality, she was laying in bed, trying to make sense of everything.

_I'm pathetic,_ she thought.

Hours of feeling sorry for herself passed by, until finally hunger kicked in. Reluctantly, Brittany went downstairs. Miss Miller and Jeanette were standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey Britt," Jeanette said with a smile. "I was just about to come get you. The Sevilles invited us over for Christmas Eve dinner."

Brittany frowned. "Why? We're going to be spending the whole day there tomorrow anyway." Brittany was still trying to find an excuse to skip out on the Christmas celebration at their neighbor's. She figured her best bet was to fake an illness.

"I know," Jeanette said. "But Dave offered to cook for us since Miss Miller…" Jeanette trailed off and glanced at their guardian. "Well, she's not really in the mood to cook."

Miss Miller rolled her eyes. "That's a bunch of nonsense, Jeanette. I don't know why Dave is doing this, but I've never been one to turn down a free meal."

Jeanette shrugged. "So are you coming, Brittany?"

"No," Brittany said sharply. The way she said it made it seem so final, like there was reason for Jeanette to ask questions.

"Um, okay," Jeanette said, her blue-green eyes wide behind her glasses.

Miss Miller grabbed her coat. "Where is Eleanor?"

"I think she went out for a jog or something," Jeanette said, slipping into her thick purple jacket. "I left her a voice message on her phone."

"A what?" Miss Miller asked, clearly confused.

"I'll explain on the way," Jeanette promised with a patient smile. She opened the front door and looked at Brittany. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

"I'm feeling a little sick actually," Brittany said, setting up her excuse to stay at home tomorrow.

"Oh," Jeanette said. Her expression was hard to read, and Brittany couldn't quite tell if her sister believed her or not. "Well, get some rest. See you later."

"Bye," Brittany said right before Jeanette closed the door.

Brittany made herself a salad and ate it in front of the TV. She kept flipping through channels, but everything that was on was a Christmas movie, Christmas special, or Christmas episode.

_Well what do you expect?_ Brittany asked herself. _It's Christmas Eve._

After mindlessly watching _Frosty the Snowman_, the irritable Chipette went to the kitchen to put her bowl in the dishwasher. When she went back into the living room, Eleanor walked in through the front door. Her cheeks were red from the cold, and her winter hat and blonde ponytail were dusted with fresh snowflakes. She was wearing lime green sweatpants and jacket.

"Where have you been?" Brittany asked in a flat voice.

"Jogging," Eleanor answered breathlessly.

Brittany snarled. "Who goes jogging at eight thirty on Christmas Eve night?"

Eleanor loosened her scarf around her neck. "Someone who didn't have time to run earlier because she was wrapping Christmas presents during the day."

"Always the procrastinator," Brittany sighed. She wished her sister would just go away.

Eleanor frowned and put her hands on her hips. "What's your _problem?_"

"You." Brittany said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Eleanor's pale eyebrows shot up. "What did_ I_ do? I've hardly seen you the last week."

Brittany inhaled. This was it. This was when the truth would come out.

"I know about you and Alvin hooking up," Brittany said, struggling to keep her voice steady.

Eleanor was frozen in shock. Her brown eyes looked at Brittany unblinking. It looked as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Who told you?" Eleanor asked in a small voice.

"It doesn't matter how I found out," Brittany said, noting that Jeanette, Alvin, and Eleanor all asked who had spilled the beans. "What matters is that you didn't tell me in the first place."

Eleanor's shoulders sagged. "Oh come on, Brittany. You know why I couldn't tell you."

"Right," Brittany said with an eye roll. "Because I'd get mad. But did you ever think I'd be even madder that you weren't honest?"

"Well I'm sorry if you're upset," Eleanor said, not sounding all that sorry. "But you have nothing to worry about because what Alvin and I had apparently wasn't a big deal anyway. We haven't been involved in months."

"But you still like him." Brittany folded her arms across her chest. "Don't you?"

Eleanor silently looked down at her muddy tennis shoes. Then she lifted her head up and looked at her sister with a brave face. "Why do you care? You're always going on about how you're over him."

"This isn't about whether I'm over him or not," Brittany shot back. "This is about how you went behind my back and hooked up with my ex-boyfriend."

To Brittany's surprise, Eleanor actually started to laugh.

"I don't see anything funny about this," Brittany said.

Eleanor shrugged. "Oh, I was just thinking about how you're so angry about me not being honest, when you've been lying to everyone all along."

"What are you talking about?" Brittany asked impatiently.

Eleanor's laughing faded, but a wicked smile remained on her pretty face. "You're obviously still in love with Alvin."

A surge of anger went through Brittany's body. She wasn't angry because Eleanor was falsely accusing her; she was angry because Eleanor was absolutely right.

"You don't know anything about me," Brittany said through clenched teeth.

"I know that you're selfish," Eleanor said, matching Brittany's intensity. "As long as you're happy, no one else matters. But when you're upset about something, you seem to go out of your way to make sure everyone else is just as miserable.

"Whatever," Brittany grumbled. She wasn't sure what Eleanor was talking about. "You're just jealous. You always have been." She sighed dramatically. "I knew coming home was a mistake."

"For once, you're right," Eleanor said. She took a few steps closer to Brittany. "Everyone has been trying to have fun this Winter break and all you've been doing is moping around the house feeling sorry for yourself for God-knows-what. It's always all about you."

"You don't know what I've been through!" Brittany fired back.

"That's because you haven't talked to me," Eleanor said, a hint of sadness in her voice. The sadness was noticeably lacking in her next few sentences. "You came home trying to show us how cool and grown-up you are now, with your new clothes and fake new attitude. But face it Brittany: You're still the self-absorbed, spoiled little brat you've always been."

Brittany's mouth went completely dry. Before she had time to even think about what to say, Eleanor turned around and walked out of the house. She slammed the door as hard as she could, making the picture frames on the wall rattle.

Brittany stood still in the silent house. Had that really just happened? Had Eleanor—her sweet, cheerful, little sister—just told her off?

Her throat tightened and her eyes began to water. Suddenly, everything became crystal clear; Brittany knew what she had to do.

Without giving her decision a second thought, Brittany ran upstairs to her room. She yanked her suitcase out of her closet and gathered as many clothes as she could. She shoved the outfits in the case and, with a lot of pushing, was able to zip up the suitcase.

After grabbing her purse and a few necessary toiletries, Brittany hurried downstairs to slip into her coat and boots. She reached for the doorknob, but paused.

_Miss Miller._

Brittany dropped her bags and headed for the kitchen. She frantically searched for paper and a pen. She figured she at least owed a note to the old woman to explain her sudden departure. After all, none of this was Miss Miller's fault.

Brittany found a pink post-it pad and black ink pen. She quickly wrote:

_Miss Miller,_

_I'm sorry I had to take off like this, but something came up. I'll call you later. _

_Merry Christmas,_

_Brittany_

Brittany hesitated before writing anymore; she knew what she was about to write was going to make some people very angry. But she was desperate to get out of here, and this was something she had to do…

_P.S. I had to take the Cadillac to the bus station. I'll leave to keys under the mat under the driver's seat. I'll send a text to let you know where I parked. _

_I'm sorry. _

The Chipette took a deep breath as she laid the sticky note on the counter. For all she knew, Miss Miller probably wouldn't even notice she was gone.

Brittany grabbed her bags and before she knew it, she was sitting in the driver's seat of Miss Miller's pink Cadillac backing out of the driveway. Without even glancing at her house or the Seville's house across the street, Brittany put the car in drive and sped into the night.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah… I'm not going to lie, I hate this chapter. The dream sequence was kind of confusing and I feel like I'm just writing the same old thing over and over again. The only part I didn't hate was Eleanor and Brittany's confrontation (I seem to have been writing quite a few of those in my stories lately), but even that could've used some work. Oh well. I'll make the next chapter better, okay?**

**BY THE WAY some of you have been asking about **_**We're off to See America!**_** To answer your question, I **_**am**_** working on it. I didn't forget! I'm just having writer's block; but be patient, it'll be out soon (hopefully!).**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Wow, it's pretty sad that I'm finishing my Christmas story in April. Silly me. But you guys are awesome for reading it; there have been quite a few readers who have been very loyal to this story, and I appreciate that. Anyway, this is the final chapter… and, as usual, I don't care for it. It just seems awkward to me. But hopefully you guys will think its okay. Oh, and there's some important news on the author's note on the bottom! Please enjoy the last chapter of _Last Christmas._**

* * *

_Now I found a real love_

_You'll never fool me again_

* * *

Tears stung Brittany's eyes as sat alone on a cold metal bench at the bus station. She had just bought a ticket to go back to UCLA. The man behind the ticket counter thought she was joking at first, but Brittany convinced him that she was serious about taking at bus ride Christmas Eve night. The man was confused, but gave her the ticket and said a bus would come in about twenty minutes.

Brittany watched fresh snowflakes land on her black coat. She wondered if this was a mistake; maybe she was just being too dramatic. She had a reputation for being a drama queen. Perhaps this was stupid and she should just go back home.

_No,_ she thought. This was the right decision. Staying at home was simply not an option, not after all she had been through. She needed to get out of this place, even if it meant spending Christmas on an empty college campus…

Wait a minute. Would the campus still be open at Christmas? Brittany realized her dorm room might be closed for the holidays. What if she couldn't get it?

Brittany leaned back on the bench and groaned. Her credit card was probably running low on money, but she figured she would have enough to stay in a cheap hotel for a few days. It wasn't an ideal way to spend a holiday, but Brittany would rather be there than with her screwed-up family and neighbors.

She turned to her left to see a homeless man several feet away, sitting against the bus ticket booth. He wrapped himself tighter in his old, ratty winter coat. The man was shivering like crazy, desperately trying to stay warm by rubbing his hands together in their tattered gloves.

Brittany instantly felt guilty. That guy would give anything to spend Christmas Eve in a warm house, even if it was with people who he was angry with.

_I'm so selfish,_ Brittany thought. Yet she just couldn't bring herself to get up and go back home.

"Brittany?"

Brittany froze. Was she hallucinating? She thought the only people around were her, the guy at the ticket booth, and the homeless man. Who could be here that knew her name?

Brittany turned around and gasped. "Simon?"

Simon smiled sadly and put his hands in his coat pocket.

"Hi Brittany," he said.

A thousand questions swirled through Brittany's mind. She decided to ask the most obvious one: "What are you doing here?"

Simon shrugged. "I'm here to see you."

Question number two: "How did you know I was here?"

"I was taking out some trash when I saw you pull out of your driveway." Simon awkwardly rocked back and forth on his heels. "I don't know why, but I decided to get in the car and see where you were going. I had feeling you were going to leave."

Brittany stared at the snow under her feet. "Um, okay," she said, not sure what to say. She wasn't sure what to think about this; should she be angry at Simon for following her? The whole point of leaving was to get away from him and the others. Or should she be glad that someone cared enough about her to see where she was going on Christmas Eve night?

"Look," Simon said, "I was originally going to convince you to stay. The whole drive here, I was thinking of what to say to get you not to leave. But now… well, I guess you're not in the mood to hear it. Your mind is made up, and it's your life, so I'll just leave you alone." Brittany continued to stare at the frozen ground. "Well, I guess this is good-bye for now. Merry Christmas, Brittany."

She finally looked up to see Simon turning around. Brittany gripped the bottom of the bench and yelled, "Wait!"

Simon turned back around. Brittany took a deep breath, realizing this might be a mistake. Maybe she should just let him go. There was still time to say, "Never mind!" and send him on his way.

No. Brittany would experience many more sleepless nights if she let that happen.

"If you were going to convince me to stay," Brittany said slowly, "what would you say?"

Simon gave a small grin and sat next to the Chipette on the bench, which was now dusted with white snow.

"Well," he said calmly, "I would say that you should at least stay for Christmas. I think you can put off whatever's bothering you for the holiest day of the year."

Brittany sighed. "Simon, you just don't get it…"

"No Brittany," Simon said firmly. "_You_ don't get it. Your family—and mine—love you and we haven't seen you in a year. Don't you think you could at least spend Christmas with us?" Simon nodded toward the homeless man. "I'll bet that man would do anything to have a nice Christmas dinner with people who care about him. You have that Brittany. Don't throw it away just because things aren't absolutely perfect for you."

Brittany's hands curled into fists as a range of emotions went through her; anger, embarrassment, guilt, shame… the list went on.

"I know," Brittany said with a sharp tone. "I'm selfish, okay? I've always been selfish, and I'll always be selfish."

Simon shrugged. "You're human, Brittany. I just think you're a lot stronger than this."

Somehow, this comforted Brittany. Simon was right. She _was_ stronger than this.

"But I can't go back," Brittany confessed. "Eleanor and I got into a really big fight. Plus there's this whole thing with you and Alvin…"

"You know you don't have to worry about Eleanor," Simon said. "You'll be able to make up with her, no problem. She's very forgiving."

"I'm not so sure about that," Brittany muttered. Before Simon could say anything, she blurted, "And this thing with you and Alvin… I just can't deal with it right now."

"_We _don't have a _thing,_ Brittany." Simon's voice was slightly bitter. "You've made that pretty clear."

Brittany's heart sank. "Simon, I…"

"You led me on, Brittany," Simon said. He didn't sound angry; he just said it as if was a fact.

Brittany moved her body so it was turned toward Simon. "I didn't lead you on." She inhaled deeply. "I really was starting to like you."

Simon's eyebrows knit together. "You were?"

"I was," Brittany confirmed. "I mean, I _am_. Simon, I like you. I really do."

"Then why would you have sex with Alvin?" Simon immediately asked.

Despite the freezing temperature, Brittany's cheeks burned. "I don't know. I do stupid things sometimes."

"Like how Alvin did a stupid thing by hooking up with that other girl?" Simon asked.

Brittany's heart hammered in her chest. "Y-yeah," she stuttered. "I guess."

"So you made a mistake just like Alvin," Simon gathered.

"I guess," Brittany said again. "B-but… it was different. We were together! I was his girlfriend! He _cheated _on me. We—me and you—were never together."

"True," Simon said. "But you got intimate with him even though you claim to have feelings for someone else, just like Alvin did."

Brittany felt the tears coming again. "What are you trying to say, Simon? Because if you're making me try to feel worse, it's working!"

Simon ran a hand through his hair, just like Alvin did when he was feeling stressed. "I… I don't know." He looked at Brittany. "I was trying to say something along the lines of you can't always strive for perfection; that you and Alvin made virtually the same mistake and that you can't expect people to be perfect all the time. But I remembered how much he hurt you…" Simon trailed off and noticed tears sliding down Brittany's cheeks. "I just… I'm sorry."

Brittany stared at Simon. He looked so upset; she knew that he felt bad.

"Look Brittany," Simon said slowly. "If you think that you have to choose between me and Alvin, you don't. No one is forcing you to pick a boyfriend, and that goes for any guy. Maybe you could be happy just being single for a while."

Brittany nodded. "I know. It's just… I don't know if Alvin and I can be just friends."

"Then don't be friends," Simon said with a shrug.

Brittany widened her eyes. "What?"

"Just avoid him," Simon went on. "Give yourself some time away from him for a while."

"In case you haven't noticed, I've been trying to avoid him the whole winter break," Brittany pointed out.

"So try harder," Simon said, nonchalantly. "Like I said, you're stronger than what you've been showing. You're Brittany Miller. You don't take shit from anybody."

Brittany burst out laughing at the very un-Simon like thing Simon just said. "Did you just say shit?" she asked in between giggles.

Simon blushed, but smiled. "Uh, yeah. I guess I did. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Suddenly, a large bus came to a stop in front of the bench.

"There's your ride," Simon said, nodding toward the empty bus.

Brittany grabbed her suitcase handle and squeezed. The awkward talk she just had with Simon didn't solve any of her problems. It didn't make her want to face Alvin or Eleanor, and it didn't make her want to make any decisions. He had made her cry, and reminded her that she was just as big of a screw-up as Alvin was. She had been frustrated and confused throughout most of their conversation.

But for some strange, unknown reason, Brittany felt better. Simon didn't think he got his point across but he did; she had come back expecting everything to be perfect. Miss Miller would be her same old forgetful, yet loveable self. She and her sisters would end up being closer than ever. Alvin would politely leave her alone and let her get on with her life. Yes, that's what Brittany had in mind when she came home.

But things weren't perfect. They never would be, and Brittany had to realize that. She couldn't just run away from her problems, no matter how horrible they were. Like Simon said, she was stronger than this.

Brittany sat up straighter and looked into Simon's blue-grey eyes. "Let's go home."

Simon's eyebrows shot up. "Really? You're sure?"

Brittany smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am. Let's go."

Brittany and Simon stood up at the same time.

"I'm a little surprised you changed your mind," Simon admitted. "My speech didn't exactly go very well."

"It wasn't perfect," Brittany said. "But somehow, by saying the wrong things, you said all the right things. Does that make sense?"

Simon chuckled. "You know, strangely enough, it makes a lot of sense."

Brittany grinned. "Thank you, Simon. For everything."

"Anything for a friend," Simon said, taking Brittany's hand and gently squeezing it.

Brittany's smile broadened. That was all she and Simon needed to be right now: Friends. There was no pressure to be anything else, at least not for now.

"It's a shame you had to waste the money on that bus ticket," Simon said. "I wonder if there's any way you can refund it."

"I don't think so," Brittany said. She turned and looked toward the cold homeless man. An idea formed in her head. "Hang on."

Brittany went to the ticket booth and knocked on the window. The man inside, who was putting on his coat to leave, reluctantly made his way toward the front of the booth.

"Yes?" he sighed.

"I decided I don't need this anymore," Brittany said, holding her ticket in the air. "Is there any way I could get my money back?"

"Sorry," the man said, closing the window. "No refunds."

Using all her arm strength (which wasn't much), Brittany grabbed the window to close it from shutting. "Wait!"

The man frowned. "Look kid, my shift is over, and my family is waiting on me…"

"I'm sorry sir," Brittany said quickly. "Just hear me out. You know that homeless guy over there?" Brittany pointed toward the cold man.

The ticket taker nodded and checked his wristwatch. "Yes. That's Joe. He's spent the last three Christmas Eves in front of this building. Poor fellow."

"I was wondering if I could exchange this ticket for cash to give to him," Brittany said, putting the ticket on the counter.

The man gave her a sad smile as he gently pushed the ticket back toward Brittany. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that. It's against the rules here."

"Please?" Brittany asked, her eyes wide with hope.

The man looked at the ticket, then at Brittany. Then he looked at Joe and nodded. "Well, hey, it's Christmas Eve, right?"

"Right," Brittany said with a smile.

The man grinned and took her ticket. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"My lips are sealed," Brittany promised, her heart feeling full.

Brittany watched as the man gave her a handful of cash. She quickly counted the bills, and realized there were an extra ten dollars.

"Um, sir," Brittany said. "You gave me back an extra ten."

"I know," the man said, giving her a wink. "Merry Christmas."

Brittany couldn't contain her smile. "Merry Christmas," she said right before he closed the small window.

Brittany hurried over toward the homeless man, who was pulling his torn hat over his ears.

"Excuse me?" Brittany said. "Joe?"

Joe looked up, obviously confused as to how this girl knew his name and why she was talking to him.

"This is for you," Brittany said, handing him the cash. "I know it isn't much but…"

Brittany's voice trailed off as she watched Joe's blue eyes well up with tears. He looked up at Brittany and gave her a smile that melted her heart.

"Thank you, Miss," he said, his voice full of gratitude. He was no longer shivering; in fact, he looked warm and comfortable.

"You're welcome," Brittany said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Joe replied. "God bless you, dear."

Brittany made her way over to Simon, who was grinning.

"A selfish person wouldn't have done that," he said.

Brittany picked up her suitcase and wiped a tear from her eye. Fortunately, this time her tears were of happiness.

She turned toward Joe, who was admiring his cash. He looked toward the sky with a grateful expression, as if he was thanking God.

Brittany turned toward Simon and said, "Let's go home."

And they did.

**…...**

"Three… two… one… HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Brittany wrapped an arm around Jeanette, careful not to spill her glass of champagne. She was glad that Dave finally loosened up this year and let them have a glass, even though it took a lot of persuasion.

She and her sisters in the Seville's living room ringing in the new year with Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and Dave. It was the first time all winter break that Brittany felt comfortable being at their house. She was determined to have a decent New Year's Eve.

"Happy New Year Brittany," Simon said with a smile.

Brittany gave Simon a hug. "Happy New Year."

Brittany's eyes shifted to the couch, where Alvin was sitting. He was drinking his champagne, watching Brittany intently. Brittany quickly focused her gaze elsewhere.

After her talk with Simon at the bus station, she was more determined than ever to avoid Alvin; however, she soon found out that she didn't even need to try. Besides mumbling "Thanks" to her on Christmas day after she had given him his present, Alvin hadn't spoken to her. Actually, he hadn't spoken much to anyone in the last few days. "Quiet" wasn't a word that Brittany would ever think would describe Alvin Seville, but that's exactly what he had been lately: Quiet.

She was actually surprised he was even here. Usually Alvin spent the morning of January 1st passed out at some crazy New Year's Eve Party, but not this year. Brittany wondered why he was spending the New Year at his house.

"Happy New Year," Eleanor said politely.

Brittany turned and faced her sister, who had a strained smile on her pretty face. They had yet to apologize to each other, but they were at least to the point where they were speaking again.

"Happy New Year, Eleanor," Brittany replied.

Brittany took a sip of her drink and looked around the room, where her friends and siblings were hugging and wishing each other a Happy New Year. She was glad that she ended up staying; things were finally looking up. Jeanette and Eleanor had agreed that Miss Miller needed help; she had a doctor's appointment scheduled the day after tomorrow.

Someone tapped Brittany's shoulder. She turned to see Dave smiling warmly at her.

"Happy New Year, Brittany," he said. "We're so glad that you decided to spend the holidays with us."

"I'm glad too," Brittany said. She threw her arms around Dave, surprising him a little. "Thanks for everything, Dave. Happy New Year."

"Oh," Dave said, patting Brittany on the back. "You're welcome, Brittany."

Brittany pulled back and turned her attention to the TV. Times Square was on the screen, and the camera zoomed in on a number of couples kissing their loved ones. Brittany was reminded that this was the second year in a row where she wouldn't be kissing anyone.

"Are you all right?" Simon asked her.

Before she could change her mind, Brittany stood on her tippy-toes and gave Simon a quick kiss on the cheek.

Simon's eyes widened as his whole face turned pink, prompting Brittany to giggle.

"W-what was that for?" Simon asked.

Brittany shrugged. "For being a great friend."

Simon grinned. "Uh… you're welcome?"

Brittany laughed and pulled Simon in for another hug. Something caught her eye by the couch; it was Alvin, getting up to leave.

Brittany sighed. She knew this whole thing with Alvin wasn't over.

But she forced herself to push those thoughts out of her mind. The only thing that mattered at the moment was celebrating New Years with the people she cared about most. Everything would eventually fall into place. Everything would turn out okay.

Right now, she wasn't Old Brittany or New Brittany. She was just Brittany Ann Miller. And there was nothing wrong with that.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah… I don't know. To be honest, I just wrote whatever came to mind. I don't think it flowed very well, but oh well. Its okay, I guess. **

**Here's the news I mentioned earlier: If you were disappointed with how this ended (which is probably about 95% of you), don't worry; there's probably going to be a sequel. I already have some plans, and let's just say Alvin/Brittany shippers will probably be quite pleased (although there will probably be some treats for Brimon fans as well!). So look out, because it'll probably come out this summer! Yay!**

**Thanks again for reading (and reviewing… BIG thanks to everyone who reviewed!). You guys are awesome, and I can't wait to start some new stories this summer!**


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